Bub Carrington hit the harsh reality after the Tree Young trade

Ever since Washington Wizards trade veterans C.J. McCollum and Corey Kispert to Atlanta Hawks for All-Star guard Trae Young On January 7, their young core was tasked with leading the team on the floor. However, the organization must also learn how Young (knee, quadriceps) will come together with the “Wiz Kids” when he returns from injury, which won’t be before the All-Star break.

The scout predicted how the 27-year-old would do affect second year players Alex Sarr, Keyshawn George and Bub Carrington, via Josh Robbins of The Athletics.

“I think it (the trade) helps Sarah, for sure. In the pick-and-roll, it will help Sarah,” the scout said. “I think it will help Kishon probably a little bit less because he’s been handling the ball so much and because he’s going to have to sit at the back.

“Carrington, the scout added, could be the potential Wizards prospect to lose the most with Young now in the fold,” Robbins wrote. “Carrington will continue to get heavy minutes this season while Young sits, but Young’s presence next season will almost certainly relegate Carrington to a bench role as long as the rest of the roster stays healthy.”

Carrington entered this season as Washington’s starting quarterback after earning Rising star and second team starter honors as a combo guard last year, but hit a wall in the first few weeks. Then, the 20-year-old more than doubled his scoring average from November to December (6.3 ppg to 13.7) on nearly 10 percent higher shooting (36.6 to 45.3) and has gone 10 of 24 games since Dec. 1 with a 3.0-plus assist-to-turnover ratio.

Carrington told ClutchPoints after Monday’s 110-106 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers that the constant repetitions are helping him improve, as he has yet to miss a game in his NBA career and is second only to George among Wizards players currently on the roster with 28.3 minutes per game this season. But will the Baltimore native’s development stay on track if and when his minutes drop with Young in the lineup?

Bub Carrington could be the Wizards’ longtime sixth man

While Carrington has had his ups and downs, his consistent availability has put him in the NBA record books. On Monday, the former Pittsburgh Panther became the eighth player in league history to sign up 500 plus rebounds and 500 plus assists before he turns 21, according to Wizards PR.

That’s partly because Carrington is getting more playing time than many players his age have historically and currently, but he’s shown he can be effective with his minutes as well. That’s why the 6-foot-4, 190-pounder fits the bill as Washington’s sixth man of the future as long as he progresses.

The Wizards have prioritized player development over winning for Carrington’s entire career, but next season will be a different story. SI’s Bryson Akins revealed on Wednesday that ESPN’s Bobby Marks told him that “The Wizards know they have to start winning next season or there could be regime change in Washington,” via the All Wizards Talk podcast.

This means that while letting young players average nearly 30 minutes and playing through mistakes is beneficial for development, the organization will need to change its strategy next year. If winning is the priority, it makes more sense to hand the keys to Young, a four-time All-Star who led the NBA with 11.6 assists per game last season.

The 27-year-old is a pure point guard, so it is clear what position he will play. Shooting guard Tre Johnson is also a better fit as the starting point guard than Carrington, as he could become the first rookie ever to finish a season with 50 percent shooting from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from free throws.

That scenario leaves Carrington with a bench role, as he doesn’t have the size to play in the frontcourt. But the 14th overall pick in 2024 has gained more than enough experience to shine as a sixth man, so that’s not a bad thing.

The Wizards will continue to experiment with rotations whenever Young plays this season, which will be a preview of next season. The main differences are that they prioritize keeping their top eight protected lottery picks instead of getting them this year, and whoever they draft with that pick will likely start and/or get significant minutes right away next season.

Regardless, if Carrington excels off the bench when Young starts this year, it will show that he deserves to be a part of the later stages of Washington’s rebuild. CEO Will Dawkins explained that the vision of the renewal of the organization is divided into four steps: “deconstruction, laying the groundwork, construction and then establishing what we’ve built,” according to Troy Halliburton of The Capital Hoop Caucus.

The “deconstruction” included trading away the team’s biggest names that Dawkins and company inherited from the previous administration, such as Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis, Danny Avdi and Kyle Kuzma. They are “laying the groundwork” this season by developing their recruits like Carrington, Johnson, Sarr, George and third-year fullback Bilal Coulibaly. Acquiring Young before the Feb. 5 trade deadline gave them a “build” advantage, meaning they won priority. Carrington’s experience and development from the second phase gave him the tools to keep him in the fold for the third step, whether he starts or comes off the bench.