Trae Young may not play again this season, which theoretically would be a poor development for the Wizards but in actuality would be a poor development for their tanking competitors.
The star guard has played in just five games with the Wizards, who announced Saturday that Young is suffering from two injuries: He re-injured his quadriceps during a loss to the Warriors on Monday, the team said, which led to imaging that found “lower back irritation.”
“Both injuries are being treated conservatively and will not require surgery at this time,” the Wizards said in a statement.
Perhaps related is the fact that Washington, at 16-53, entered the day with the second-worst record in the NBA (and thus the second-best chance at landing the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft).
The Wizards have lost 14 straight games, only five of which involved Young.
Washington traded for the former Hawks sharpshooter in January after he missed most of the early going with an MCL sprain and quad issue.
After acquiring Young, the Wizards traded for Anthony Davis — who has yet to play a game with his new team, which announced Friday that his hobbled left hand “has not fully healed” and will be reevaluated at the end of the month.
It would not be a surprise if Davis does not debut with Washington this season.
Such significant, star-costing injuries have become commonplace for the worst teams in the NBA.
The worst, the Pacers (15-55), made the NBA Finals last year and lost Tyrese Haliburton to a torn Achilles tendon, which might have led to a calculated decision about how this year would be best used.
The NBA fined the Pacers in February for sitting three starters.
Indiana then used the trade deadline to acquire Ivica Zubac, who sat with an ankle injury until appearing in five games in which he played with a minutes restriction and then was shut down for the season with a fractured rib.
The third-worst Nets (17-53) recently announced Michael Porter Jr. would miss at least the next two weeks with a strained left hamstring that could cost him the rest of the season.
The fourth-worst Kings (18-53) already have shut down Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine for the season, and the fifth-worst Jazz (21-49) also will not see another minute from Jaren Jackson Jr.