Anthony Davis’ first season in Washington is already carrying a familiar kind of uncertainty.
He is set to play for the Wizards for the first time tomorrow after the team acquired him before the February deadline, and while the move has plenty of fans excited, his long-term future in D.C. is far from settled. That’s why a prediction that Davis will be traded again in 2026-27 doesn’t exactly land as a daring take.
CBS Sports recently rolled out 15 bold predictions for the season, and one of them was straightforward: "Anthony Davis will be traded."
There are reasons that outcome feels more plausible than surprising. Washington did not talk extension with Davis when he became eligible in early August and plans to revisit those conversations during the season.
He also holds a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28, and he could decline it to reach unrestricted free agency next offseason. If that happens, the Wizards could lose him for nothing.
That risk is baked into the situation, and Washington knows it. The team will spend the opening stretch of the season figuring out how Davis fits, while he’ll be doing the same from his end. If that relationship starts to feel off, a deal before the Feb. 11 deadline is very much on the table.
Davis has already made clear he wants to hold off on future talks until after the season, saying as much at media day. That approach may make sense for avoiding an in-season distraction, but it doesn’t eliminate the bigger questions hanging over his tenure.
After Washington landed him, Davis said he wants to be able to "compete" where he is. He also reiterated that he wants to win, which the organization was already aware of.
And the Wizards are trying to build something that matches that mindset. They are aiming to compete this season instead of chasing another high draft pick, especially with the league’s new anti-tanking reform in place. That push shaped their offseason: they traded for Trae Young and Davis, used the No. 1 pick on AJ Dybantsa, and added veterans to the roster.
What remains to be seen is whether that collection of moves can lift Washington from the basement into the mix in the East, or even across the conference. That’s a steep climb. But if the Wizards can fight their way into the play-in tournament and maybe even the first round, it would count as real progress.
The bigger question is whether that kind of progress is enough to keep Davis in Washington. By February, he should have a much clearer picture of where the team stands.
If he decides he wants a faster track to another title, a trade could be the answer. Washington might come to that conclusion, too.
Could Davis still be on the Wizards’ roster when the season ends? Absolutely.
Would it be a shock if he isn’t? Not at all.
In Other News...
Wizards Opener Puts Early Rebuild Tension On Brian Keefe
The Wizards are finally getting to opening night, and with it comes the first real test of how their rebuild is supposed to look against a Bucks team that will waste no time exposing any loose edges. Washington has spent the preseason sorting through a young roster and an evolving rotation, with Tre Johnson and Bilal Coulibaly among the prospects trying to carve out minutes as Brian Keefe and his staff start turning evaluation into actual decisions.
There is already some early stress in the picture, though, because one of the young pieces the Wizards hoped to see is out after rolling his ankle in the preseason finale. Khris Middleton is expected to play, which helps stabilize the group on paper, but Keefe still has to figure out exactly where he fits and how much of the roster shuffle should be driven by development versus immediate competitiveness, the kind of balancing act that can define a season before it really gets going. [Read more 🡒]
Wizards Avoided A Roster Problem Fans Might Be Overlooking
The Wizards have spent enough time trying to sort out their long-term roster that fit matters almost as much as talent, and Jaylen Brown is the kind of player who can complicate that equation. He is a better pure scorer than Anthony Davis, but the bigger question for Washington is how a star would actually slot in alongside the pieces already in place, especially in a deal framework that would have forced the team to give up significant value to get him.
Brown's appeal is obvious, but the roster conversation gets trickier when the fit is considered in the broader backcourt and frontcourt picture. Washington is better served by a player who can anchor the defense and work cleanly in the half court, which is why Davis would have made more sense for the Wizards than Brown, even if the latter brings more natural scoring. [Read more 🡒]
Wizards Have An Early Chance To Fix Two Problems Fast
The Washington Wizards head into the new season with a lot more optimism than they had a year ago, thanks to the arrivals of Trae Young, Anthony Davis and draft pick AJ Dybantsa. Even with that new talent, the preseason offered a reminder that good names do not automatically make a clean team, especially on offense, where the ball still tended to get away from them. There is at least a little room to settle in, because the opening stretch of the schedule gives Washington a chance to face some friendlier opponents while it keeps building chemistry.
The early games will also say plenty about whether the frontcourt gains the Wizards showed in preseason can carry over once the results start counting. If the offense can get organized and the defense can hold up against a softer run of competition, Washington could avoid digging itself an early hole. If not, the same issues that made last season such a grind could show up again before the schedule gets any kinder. [Read more 🡒]