The Washington Wizards recently shook things up by trading for Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young, sending out CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert in return. Unfortunately, Wizards fans will have to wait to see their new floor general take the court, as ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported earlier this week that Young will be out at least through the All-Star break due to various injuries.
Still, Young is currently with the team on their Western Conference road trip, making an appearance in Los Angeles for their game against the Clippers on Wednesday night, which turned out to be a loss.
During the game, a Clippers announcer made a quip about Young's presence in the arena.
“I guarantee if this trip was in Utah Trae wouldn't be on the bench,” he said, per MrBuckBuck on X, formerly Twitter.
Clippers announcer Jim Jackson on Trae Young being on the Wizards bench against the Clippers in Los Angeles "I guarantee if this trip was in Utah Trae wouldn't be on the bench.”
(Trae would be at home if they weren't in LA or Miami.
He only made the road trip because of LA) pic.twitter.com/5iNZLXX4Qd
— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) January 15, 2026
Indeed, Los Angeles is generally considered to be one of the more fun NBA cities to travel to, and Young does own a home in the area, both of which could have factored into his decision to join the team there on Wednesday.
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However, Wednesday's game was not the first game that Young has been in attendance for since his trade to the Wizards, and he has said all of the right things about his new team since joining them last week.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen what the Wizards' plan will be with Young as it pertains to this season. Washington will only keep its first-round pick this year if it falls inside the top eight, meaning the team does have an incentive to not win too many games in the short term.
Young missed significant time earlier this year with an MCL sprain, from which he is evidently still recovering.
In any case, the Wizards will next take the court on Friday night vs the Sacramento Kings.