Trae Young Was Ejected From a Washington Wizards Game Before He Played in One

After spending the entirety of his career with the Atlanta Hawks, Trae Young is getting ready to suit up for the Washington Wizards for the first time. He was traded to the Wizards in January, but has been sidelined with an injury since then. Trae is set to play on March 3, and on March 2, he earned his first ejection as a Wizard before even playing for the team.

Following the news that Trae was ejected before even playing in a game, many wanted to better understand what he was ejected for. Here's what we know.

Trae was ejected after he walked on the court from the Wizards bench to complain to an official during a confrontation between Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason and Wizards forward Jamir Watkins. The Rockets went on to beat the Wizards 123-118. Tari Eason was also ejected.

The ejection didn't impact the outcome of the game because Trae was not slated to play either way.

Afterward, though, Trae made light of the incident on X (formerly known as Twitter), promising Wizards fans that he wouldn't be ejected from many more games during his time with the team.

"Don’t expect me to get ejected too many more times, D.C.," he wrote, "but I’m definitely bringing that energy and competitiveness when I’m back for my brothers!"

Trae's return to the court will be an interesting wrinkle for a Wizards team that is dominated by younger talent.

Trae has not played in a game since Dec. 27 and has been out with an MCL injury. He is expected to play between 17 and 20 minutes in his debut, according to ESPN. Trae, a four-time all-star, is averaging 19.3 points and 8.9 assists in just 10 games this season, and was traded from Atlanta as that team looks to build around other stars that they have developed more recently.

The Wizards, meanwhile, have been one of the least winning franchises in the NBA for some time, and are currently sitting at 16-44 with one of the worst records in the NBA. That could leave them primed to receive a great draft pick in the upcoming NBA lottery, but that is not guaranteed. The Wizards have one of the youngest cores in the NBA, but recently traded for both Trae Young and Anthony Davis.

That suggests that the team might be looking to compete soon, and might want to pair a star rookie with Trae and Anthony headed into next season. For now, though, the Wizards have little hope of seeing any postseason action, so their goal for the remainder of the year is to develop their young guys and not win too many games down the stretch of the long NBA season.

Trae Young was once seen as a potential superstar, but if he ever wants to earn that designation, he's going to need to contribute to a team that does a lot more winning, and also play more consistently.