The Dallas Mavericks are sending forward Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards as part of an eight player blockbuster.
The full deal will see Washington acquire Davis, Jaden Hardy, D’Angelo Russell, and Dante Exum. In exchange, the Mavericks will add Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, two 1st round draft picks, and 3 second round picks.
Davis, who has been sidelined with a hand injury since early January is currently averaging 20.1 points, and 11.1 rebounds per game across 20 contests this season. That being said, given Washington’s paltry 13-36 record, and the uncertainty around the 10x All-Star’s return to play timeline, it’s quite possible the team opts to simply shut Davis down and enter the 2026-27 campaign fully healthy.
With star point guard Trae Young, whom the team acquired last month, also on the sidelines due to injury, there’s no real impetus for the team to rush either back into the lineup. Davis is currently in the first season of a 3 year, $175M contract extension, which will see him earn $58.5M next season, and carry a player option for $62.8M in 2027-28.
Several teams had inquired about the 32 year old’s availability despite his uncertain injury outlook in recent weeks, including the Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks. By pairing him with Young and developing pieces such as Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, and Bub Carrington, the Wizards will certainly have a much more palatable offence in 2026-27.
In the meantime however, the team will be looking to get their young players as many reps as they can down the stretch as the team looks like they’re destined for a top 3 lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. If Washington can add another blue chip prospect to their lineup, they could suddenly become a dark horse team in the wide open Eastern Conference next year.
As for Dallas, the deal was as much about moving on from the ill-fated Luka Doncic trade as it was about adding any impact players. The Mavericks will essentially get back a solid rotational piece in Khris Middleton, and then will roll the dice on some players with question marks around their future.
If the first rounder from Golden State in 2030 turns out to be in the post-Stephen Curry world, it could prove valuable, but ultimately Dallas will continue to have some growing pains in the immediate future with their current roster.
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.