Marc J. Spears reported earlier this week for ESPN that the Washington Wizards were interested in a potential sign-and-trade with the Pistons. On Wednesday, Sam Amick and Hunter Patterson of The Athletic confirmed the team's interest (subscription required), specifically mentioning Anthony Davis.
League sources also confirmed an ESPN report indicating that the Washington Wizards would have interest in a Duren-for-Anthony Davis trade, but that scenario – like all the others – does not appear to be of interest to the Pistons.
The Wizards would need to trade Davis, who will make $58.5 million this season, to get Duren, whom the Pistons most recently offered $200 million, so it's not a shock that AD would be involved in a deal.
You can question whether it'd be worth Washington adding Duren, especially at a similar price to what Detroit offered, but that's a different topic. What we do know is that the Wizards are interested enough to discuss it, but the Pistons maintain that they want to keep their center, as they did throughout the offseason.
Okay, well, that should be the end of it, right? Not necessarily.
Will Anthony Davis be with the Wizards for long?
Davis has been in the league long enough to know how things work. After Washington opted not to discuss an extension with him over the summer, when he became eligible on Aug. 6, and chose to wait to have those potential discussions during the season, he should have known a trade was even more likely.
Keep in mind, he may not want to stick around, as he made it clear after last season's trade that he wanted to play for a contender. At media day, Davis spoke positively about AJ Dybantsa and the Wizards' trades for veterans Khris Middleton and Deandre Ayton, which was a good sign, but we don't know how things will go once the season starts.
Especially now that Washington has at least some interest in sending him to Detroit for Duren. Given AD's injury history, age, and need for a new (expensive) contract, it makes sense that the Wizards are open to trading him before he even plays a game, but it could still make him feel somewhat unwanted, even though the team willingly traded for him several months ago (and didn't make him available over the summer).
The Wizards are doing their due diligence, as they can't wait to discuss a potential extension with AD until after the season, which he said he wants to do at media day. They need to decide what to do with Davis before Feb. 11, the trade deadline. Getting a player like Duren, who fits their timeline better, is the right idea, though he might not be the right player.
This is likely just the beginning of the AD trade rumors, and while he should've been prepared for it, that doesn't mean it won't still affect him.
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