Four years ago, the Washington Wizards signed Bradley Beal to a five-year, $251 million max deal with a full no-trade clause, one of the worst contracts in NBA history. Now, future Hall of Fame big man Anthony Davis is a Wizard and is eligible for a four-year, $275 million max deal, but the organization isn't rushing to give him that.
Any meaningful extension talks between Washington and Davis will start during the 2026-27 season, per The Athletic's Josh Robbins. The 33-year-old is entering the last year of his contract before a $62.7 million player option for 2027-28.
This is another example of how the Wizards' current regime differs from its predecessor. General manager Will Dawkins and president Michael Winger took over in 2023 and have since built a roster featuring Davis, No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa, four-time All-Star point guard Trae Young, and a young supporting cast led by big man Alex Sarr. They've also done so without ruining the organization's flexibility moving forward, which signing Davis to a max would do.
Giving the former NBA champion that deal would commit over two-thirds of the salary cap to him and Young over the next few seasons, before signing core pieces like Sarr and wing Kyshawn George. Washington inked Young to a four-year, $212 million contract in June.
Plus, Davis must prove that he can stay healthy before earning an extension. The Chicago native has played 60-plus games in a season just twice since 2018-19 and has played just 71 over the last two campaigns due to various injuries.
Signing Davis to a contract in the ballpark of a max deal before the season would be malpractice, just like when former Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard gave Beal a full no-trade clause, a privilege usually reserved for future Hall of Famers. Dawkins and company started Washington's rebuild by moving off the latter contract, and they won't make a similar mistake as Sheppard.
Wizards must shop Anthony Davis once he rebuilds value
If Davis finally shakes the injury bug in Washington next season, then the organization should flip him to a championship-contending team before the Feb. 11 trade deadline. It would make sense for both parties, as the Wizards aren't ready to win a championship yet, and the five-time All-NBA honoree doesn't have many prime years left to wait.
Acquiring Davis was simply a low-risk bet for Washington at the last trade deadline, as it gave up expendable assets headlined by the Oklahoma City Thunder's 2026 first-round pick (No. 30 overall) to get him from the Dallas Mavericks. Dawkins revealed to FanSided in April that landing him and Young aligns with the Wizards' vision of surrounding their young talent with accomplished veterans.
On how Trae Young and Anthony Davis in the lineup next year could affect the young guys given that they might get fewer minutes:
— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) April 16, 2026
“I think it’s still to be determined. We’ve always surrounded our young players with vets. They that probably haven’t been to this level of player.…
"We’ve always surrounded our young players with vets, but they just probably haven’t been to this level of player," he admitted. "But we’ve had [Jonas] Valanciunas, [Malcolm] Brogdon, Tyus Jones, [Kyle] Kuzma. Our guys have always played heavy minutes with veteran players, I think we’re just adding more established, Hall of Fame-level players and All-Stars to our team."
"I think it’ll actually benefit them, because we’ll be in more competitive games and they can feed off of them and learn and grow," he continued. "That’s always been the plan, to surround our guys with veteran players. So that doesn’t change for us."
While Dawkins stated that Young and Davis are better than the other veterans he mentioned, he still mentioned all of them in the same breath. This regime acquires veterans to help its young core, not the other way around.
Therefore, the Wizards must trade Davis for another young player who fits their timeline and/or draft capital if he stays healthy next season.
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