The Washington Wizards move to acquire four-time All-Star Trae Young came with the hope that the star guard could be the answer to one of the team's biggest questions on the roster.
Washington's hole in the backcourt has been one of the team's largest looming questions since the departure of John Wall.
Even throughout the efforts to have former MVP Russell Westbrook fill the void at the point guard position, the Wizards have struggled to find a long-term answer at the point guard position, especially since the team officially hit the restart button post Bradley Beal.
That reason alone is why the Wizards took a swing on Bub Carrington's potential when they selected him with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft,
Carrington showed plenty of flashes throughout his freshman season at Pittsburgh and his upside seemed to give Washington's front office a sense of hope that with the right development, he could finally answer that question in the backcourt.
Following his rookie season, expectations were high for Carrington, especially after the guard's comments about his efforts to work on his ability to get downhill in the offseason.
Unfortunately, those offseason efforts and high expectations were quickly combatted with a struggling start to his sophomore season in Washington.
In fact, the slow start is exactly why the Wizards move to make the bold move for Trae Young raised eyebrows for Carrington's future in Washington.
Is Bub Carrington still apart of the Wizards plans?
Young's arrival in Washington poses the harsh reality that the Wizards front office may no longer believe Carrington can be the point guard of the future.
Whether the teams believe he can be a quality backup point guard or if they simply have plans to move him in the near future is unknown.
Regardless, the urgency to make the trade for Young when the team had the chance suggests that the Wizards decision makers felt that the need for a reliable ball handler to run the office was still a major question that needed to be answered.
Now, the new question that has emerged is if Carrington has a fit in within the team's long-term plans, or do the Wizards have a different plan in mind that contains moving the young playmaker elsewhere.
Carrington's future is up in the air, but it'll be hard to know exactly which way the team leans until Young hits the floor and with his debut seemingly being postponed, only time will tell.