Anthony Davis and Trae Young are not expected to play again this season, Wizards coach Brian Keefe said before his team’s 129-98 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.
Young was acquired from the Atlanta Hawks on Feb. 5 but played just five games with the Wizards due to a quad contusion, MCL sprain and back issues. The 27-year-old point guard averaged 15.2 points and 6.2 assists on 59.5% FG and 42.9% 3PT with Washington while on a minutes restriction.
Young has a $49 million player option for the 2026-27 season. He is widely expected to decline his player option and instead ink a multi-year contract extension to stay in Washington.
Davis, 33, was acquired from the Dallas Mavericks at February’s trade deadline but didn’t make his Wizards debut due to ligament damage in his right hand. Washington kept pushing back the All-Star forward’s return date before Keefe finally ruled out a return this season.
The Wizards’ decision to shut down Davis and Young for the remainder of this season should come as no surprise. Washington is still tanking despite securing a bottom-four record and keeping their top-8 protected pick. And with just three games left in its final rebuilding season, there’s close to zero incentive in playing either of its star players.