Thursday (Aug. 6) marked the first day that Anthony Davis was eligible to sign a contract extension with the Washington Wizards. Any deal, however, will apparently have to wait. Davis and the Wizards will wait until the season to have any “meaningful” contract talks, per The Athletic.
The Wizards acquired Davis at the 2026 trade deadline in a blockbuster deal with the Dallas Mavericks, but he has not yet suited up in a game for the team. He played 20 games for the Mavs last season before the deal, averaging 20.4 points and 11.1 rebounds per game.
Almost immediately upon his acquisition, rumors about a follow-up move began to spread. The Wizards paid little to get Davis; one of the first-round picks they traded was No. 30 overall and the other was top-20 protected. Davis, now 33, seemed like a better fit for a team ready to contend immediately.
These rumors picked up when LeBron James became a free agent in July, and rumors swirled that he would be interested in reuniting with his former Los Angeles Lakers co-star. The Golden State Warriors appeared most prominently in those rumors, but other teams theoretically could have pursued him as well.
The Wizards and Davis’ camp, for their part, have made no indication this summer that they are looking for a trade.
The Wizards, however, have made one significant financial commitment this summer. They signed Trae Young, whom they acquired in January, to a four-year, $212 million deal in free agency. Young has played five games in Washington.
Washington has largely remade the core of its roster in less than a year. In addition to Davis and Young, the Wizards won the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery and used it on AJ Dybantsa, who will presumably start alongside Young and Davis for the new-look Wizards. Washington has won just 50 games combined over the past three seasons, but with two former All-Stars now in the mix alongside a No. 1 overall pick, the expectation is that the Wizards will now at least be a competitive team next season.