Trae Young has not played a game yet for the Washington Wizards, but he already sounds fully invested in where the franchise is headed.
Young outlined why he believes in the Wizards direction and why he wanted to be part of it speaking at his introductory press conference ahead of Washingtons home matchup against the Pelicans, despite the team sitting near the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
Just being able to watch from afar and just some of the pieces that theyve gotten since [Will Dawkins and Michael Winger have] been here and the headaches Ive had these last couple of times playing against them, you kind of see the difference and feel the difference from the way they play,Young said, via Yahoo Sports.
He added, Its on its way up, and I hope Im a piece of this puzzle on the way up with it.
The four-time All-Star is currently sidelined with a right quad contusion and is still managing lingering pain after missing 23 games earlier this season with an MCL sprain.
Young made it clear he is prioritizing health over rushing his Wizards debut.
Coming over here doing these physicals, they want to make sure Im right and things like that, Young said. I dont want to come back and not be myself for this team and for this city. So Ill just leave it up to them to make sure they let you know when Im coming back hopefully soon.
Despite having a player option worth $49 million next season, Young emphasized that Washington appealed to him beyond contract considerations.
Theres a lot of different directions I could have went as far as my goals and what I want my legacy to be at the end of the day, Young said. Just being able to have an impact on my teammates and people around me being able to be a vet and doing it with these young guys here, I feel like I have more experience and more things that I can give these young guys.
