The Washington Wizards aren’t always in the spotlight at this stage of the season. After pulling off a pair of surprising trades that brought Trae Young and 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis to the nation’s capital, Washington suddenly finds itself generating headlines heading into Thursday night’s matchup with the Utah Jazz. 

Those two additions were a signal of intent to move up the rebuilding timeline. The Wizards want to pair a dynamic playmaker in Young, who was brought in from the Atlanta Hawks, with one of the league’s most talented bigs in Davis, who came from the Dallas Mavericks.

Yet the spotlight now comes with a familiar caveat for the 32-year-old Davis — another injury setback.

On Thursday, the team announced that their newly acquired forward, who has played just 20 times this season, was reevaluated on Wednesday and will be out at least two more weeks. 

It is the same old story for Davis, who has seen limited action overall since his move from the Los Angeles Lakers last year. Dealing with ligament damage in his left, non-shooting hand, he last played on Jan. 8. 

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It has been yet another challenging campaign for the Wizards, one they hoped to remedy by their trade acquisitions. However, it seems that they aren’t the ones who needed a remedy after all. 

Davis opted against surgery earlier this year while still with Dallas, as all parties hoped for a quicker return. Still, the Wizards were fully aware of his documented injury history when they pursued the deal. 

Davis has had to battle durability throughout his career, missing significant time every season with one issue or another. The Wizards front office rolled the dice anyway, hoping that his return would coincide with the post-NBA All-Star break.

They now must manage the consequences of a frontcourt star who has yet to suit up for the franchise. The team will have to wait for at least two more weeks to see Davis debut in a Wizards jersey. 

Wizards Met With Promising News

The good news, however, is that one of their two major additions will make his debut on Thursday night versus the Jazz. Young, a four-time All-Star and Atlanta’s all-time leader in assists and 3-pointers, is set to return to action.

Young has been out since Dec. 27 with a knee injury but has finally been cleared to play. He hopes to make an impact on a Washington team looking for only its 17th win of the season. The Wizards are currently on a six-game losing streak.

It seemed a little too desperate that the Wizards had to trade for two players who were battling health issues. But perhaps the franchise is confident in a fruitful outlook for next season and beyond.