From one mediocre side to another, judging Trae Young’s recent trade from the Atlanta Hawks to the Washington Wizards would be easy to judge that way. Atlanta has been a perennial play-in level team since their trip to the Conference Finals in 2021. The Wizards meanwhile, are currently last in the East.
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So, is there hope for a resurgence for the Wizards, now that Young, a generational talent and four-time All-Star will be on its roster? Channing Frye does not think so at all.
On the Road Trippin show, Frye acknowledged that getting Young was a great move for the Wizards, but alone, he does not have what it takes to turn the franchise into championship contenders overnight.
“For the Wizards, I think its great,” the former NBA player began. “You put people in the stands [but] you ain’t gonna win s**t. I mean it’s the truth…”
“This isn’t a championship move, this is to get a piece to build around. And you got to take a chance, and for the Wizards I think this is an A. Nobody wanted to play for the Wizards,” Frye added.
Then, he spilled a cold hard truth. In all his years of being in the circles of the NBA, he’s never heard of anyone wanting to be a player for the Wizards. “They’ve had good teams… John Wall, draft. Bradley Beal, draft… but those teams were different, they were built through draft.”
Frye’s assessment may seem harsh, but he makes sense. Young is a great player, but comes with obvious flaws and isn’t a Luka Doncic-esque talent who can single-handedly win games. There’s a reason Atlanta was languishing around the mid-table mark for years.
But he did acknowledge that the Wizards would now be better than they were before. They won’t be the worst team in the conference anymore, and this “change in scenery” could very well kickstart a chain reaction of moves that gets other talents to Washington, as the Wizards look to be relevant in the championship conversations.
