Wizards trade Anthony Davis blockbuster with Mavericks

Second time in two months, once obscure Washington Wizards are the main topic of conversation in the NBA world. They agreed to acquire the five-time All-NBA winner Anthony Davis of the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.

The full details are belowaccording to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Wizards get:

• C Anthony Davis
• Mr Jaden Hardy
• Mr. D’Angelo Russell
• Mr. Dante Ecum

The Mavericks get:

• F Chris Middleton
• Mr AJ Johnson
• Mr. Malachi Branham
• C Marvin Bagley III
• 2026 First Round Pick (OKC)
• 2030 Top-20 Protected Picks in the First Round (GSV)
• Second Round Pick 2026 (PHKS)
• Second Round Pick 2027 (CHI)
• Second Round Pick 2029 (HOU)

This trade gives the Wizards another star without giving up a key post-acquisition asset Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks in January. Like Young (quad, knee), Davis (finger) is injured, so Washington doesn’t have to worry about winning too many games to keep its top-eight protected lottery pick this summer. This is another move for next season.

Davis held on damage to the ligaments on the left hand when he was defending Utah Jazz big man Lauri Markkanen on Jan. 8, per Charani. A few days later, the Mavericks announced that the 10-time All-Star was expected to heal in about six weeks.

Meanwhile, Young hasn’t played since his last appearance for the Hawks on Dec. 27, and he will re-evaluated after the All-Star breakaccording to Charania. Washington is currently tied with the Brooklyn Nets for fourth-worst in the NBA at 13-36, and must finish no higher than fourth-worst in the standings to guarantee keeping their lottery pick.

Letting both Young and Davis rest as long as possible is the best way to make that happen. The 2026 draft class, led by potential superstars Darrin Peterson (Kansas), Cameron Boozer (Duke) and AJ Dibanca (BIU), is too talented to risk losing that pick.

Conversely, giving up a non-lottery pick is hardly a tragedy for the Wizards at this point in their rebuild. They already have a deep young core with second-year point guard Alex Sara, second-year wing Keeshon George, rookie guard Tre Johnson, third-year guard Bilal Coulibaly, second-year guard Bubba Carrington and rookie wing Will Riley. Adding another lottery pick to that group this summer is a strong enough basis for an upgrade without picking another potential No. 30 pick, which is likely where the Oklahoma City Thunder’s pick will fall.

So it was a no-brainer to trade that pick along with other consumables for the oft-injured Davis, who is one of the NBA’s best players when healthy. The 32-year-old is scheduled to make $58.4 million next season before becoming a $62.7 million player option in 2027, so Washington can have him off the books by 2028 at worst if he can’t stay on the field.

Assuming Young picks up his $49 million player option this summer and/or the Wizards re-sign him, they could have a rotation consisting of him, Davis, the aforementioned young core, and whoever the lottery picks. On paper, that’s more than enough talent to be a playoff team in the Eastern Conference, if not better. Reaching that level would be a significant leap for an organization that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2021.

Wizards Trade Class: A

Sar’s jump into the second year is one of Washington’s most exciting stories this season, ranking second in the NBA behind only San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama with 2.1 blocks per game while averaging 17.4 points on 49.6 percent shooting (33.3 percent from 3-point range) with 7.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists over 2.8 minutes. However, the seven-foot, 205-pounder would be a better fit at forward long-term rather than center, where he primarily played this year.

Sarr fought against stronger big men like Minnesota Timberwolves veteran Rudy Gobert and New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns, so the 253-pound Davis will be relieved of those matchups instead. Sarr is a nimble rim protector who can get involved on defense while also finding open teammates and finishing plays on offense, so he has a lot of value without guarding players who are dozens of pounds heavier than him.

Davis is a five-time All-Defensive honoree and three-time NBA blocks leader, so he’s well-equipped to be the center for the Wizards. The former Kentucky Wildcat is also a beast offensively and on the boards, as he owns a career average of 24 points on 52.2 percent shooting (29.5 percent from 3-point range) with 10.7 rebounds. This season, he is averaging 20.4 points on 50.6 percent shooting (27 percent 3-pointers) with 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.1 steals in 31.3 minutes (20 games).

Plus, Young leading the charge will open up eyes at the rim for both Sarah and Davis, as he led the NBA with 11.6 assists per game last season and averaged 9.8 for his career. It’s hard to criticize Washington for putting together this lineup without giving up any important assets.

The organization sent Dallas three expiring contracts as well as 2024 first-round pick AJ Johnson, who is averaging just 8.6 minutes this season. That got him and Middleton from the Milwaukee Bucks in last year’s Kyle Kuzma tradeand Davis is the only star of all those players. That means the team turned Kuzma, who scored 13.2 points on 49 percent shooting (32.8 percent from 3-point range) with 4.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 26.8 minutes for the Bucks this year, into Davis.

This looks like how The Wizards turned Bradley Beal’s supermax contract that contained a full no-trade clause into Young in a series of moves since general manager Will Dawkins and team president Michael Winger took over in 2023. The fan base couldn’t ask for better asset management, having not given up a lottery pick or a young founder in any of the deals that led to Young and Davis.

The only downside is the loss of closing space, which reduces financial flexibility moving forward. Washington needed to have a clean slate this offseason before acquiring Young, as veteran guard Corey Kispert would be its only player with a fully guaranteed non-rookie contract. But it costs money to land elite talent, which both Young and Davis provide.

Even if neither star pans out in the nation’s capital, the Wizards will have a deep young core under multi-year contracts to keep them afloat. There’s little chance they’ll have to start a complete rebuild again soon, which is miraculous for a fan base that hasn’t experienced a conference finals berth since 1979.