The noise surrounding Darryn Peterson's decision to only meet with the Washington Wizards ahead of the 2026 NBA Draft raised plenty of eyebrows on Monday.
Peterson hasn't been ruled out as an option for the Wizards with their No. 1 overall pick, but the guard's decision to decline any meetings outside of Washington seemed strange.
The initial reaction was that either the Wizards made a promise to Peterson that they'd select him with the top pick, or the playmaker was simply trying to make a point about the way he views himself compared to other top players, such as AJ Dybantsa.
Confidence is key, but the rumors about Peterson's desire not to land with the Utah Jazz made his decision seem to make much more sense.
That was, until the rumors surrounding the possibility of the Wizards trading Trae Young came out in NBA Insider Jake Fischer's latest scoop of intel (subscription) on Monday night.
Heat among interested teams in Trae Young, Peterson makes sense if Washington moves on
Fischer revealed that the Miami Heat have circled Young as a Plan B this offseason if they strike out on Giannis Antetokounmpo.
"Wizards point guard Trae Young has emerged as another "big fish" backup option for the Miami Heat in the event that Boston, Portland or some other team manages to outbid Pat Riley and Co. in the trade chase for Antetokounmpo," Fischer said.
While it was also reported that the most likely outcome for Young this offseason is to extend with the Wizards, the possibility of Washington moving on hasn't been fully ruled out, and given the extremely discounted price they managed to land the star guard out, flipping him wouldn't be the worst decision.
Still, the hype surrounding Dybantsa to D.C. stemmed from the idea that Young would remain in Washington for the foreseeable future, giving the Wizards their franchise point guard, which made the idea of selecting Peterson pointless.
Peterson has made it clear he wants to play point guard in the NBA, and that fit alongside Young immediately drew questions about his fit in the DMV from the jump.
If the Wizards were seriously contemplating a move away from Young, though, that decision would ultimately come on draft night, which could make a pivot to the Kansas guard make sense.
The likelihood that Peterson's camp has intel on that situation, though, is slim, so the idea that the Wizards may have promised him he'd be selected at No. 1 is unlikely.
Still, on the off chance that Peterson's team does have some type of intel that a Young trade is a possibility, attempting to prove he wants to be in D.C. may be an effort not only to be the top pick, but to force his way to the Wizards.
Of the options, the most likely scenario is that Peterson's decision is simply due to the playmaker preferring to land anywhere but Salt Lake City.
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