New Anthony Davis Rumors on Desire for New Contract After Offseason Trade Buzz

As Anthony Davis gets closer to making his official Washington Wizards debut eight months after being acquired in a trade, his long-term future with the club remains a big question mark.

Per The Athletic's David Aldridge and Josh Robbins , teams around the league are "well" aware that Davis' camp wants a deal that will "pay him at, or very near, maximum salaries."

Davis is entering the final guaranteed year of his current contract with a $58.5 million salary. He also holds a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28. The 10-time All-Star has been eligible to sign an extension worth up to $275 million over four years since Aug. 6.

The Wizards acquired Davis from the Dallas Mavericks in February, but he has yet to suit up for them due to a hand injury that occurred earlier in the 2025-26 season.

Despite rumors earlier in the summer that Davis and the Wizards would talk about an extension when he became eligible, neither side appeared to be in a rush to get a deal done.

Robbins reported on Aug. 6 that no "meaningful talks" between the two sides would be held until after the season begins.

Speaking to reporters during media day on Sept. 28, Davis indicated he intends to play out this season before making a decision, at least pertaining to his player option.

"When the season is over," Davis said. "I'm going to go through the season, and kind of do what I do at a high level, and then, when it's over, you know, sit down and have those key conversations again with the front office."

Since neither Davis nor the Wizards knows how he will fit with their current core group, their decision to wait on extension talks makes sense.

Given the frequent injury issues Davis has had throughout his career, particularly in recent seasons, his desire for a max or near-max contract could be a deal-breaker for some clubs in the apron era with more attention given to who is getting big pay days than ever before.

If Davis has a season like he did in 2023-24 with the Los Angeles Lakers, when he played 76 games, made the All-NBA team and finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting, it will be much easier for him to secure the type of deal he is looking for.

There hasn't been anything wrong with the way Davis has played in the two seasons since then with 23.5 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.0 blocks per game in 71 starts.

The last number is key because Davis has only played 71 out of a possible 164 games during that period. If you start with the period when he was traded to Dallas by the Lakers, he has played 29 out of a possible 115 games.

Washington is in a good financial position to potentially handle a Davis extension if things come together for the two sides. Trae Young is the only player currently on the team who will earn more than $16 million during the 2027-28 season.

If AJ Dybantsa becomes the player Washington hopes, any extension for him wouldn't kick in until the 2030-31 season. Young's current deal will be expired by that time; and Davis would be going into the final year of his deal, assuming he were to sign a four-year contract.

It's so far down the road to be thinking that big picture, but this Wizards roster is one of the most fascinating in the Eastern Conference because of the pieces in place.

Young did get some run with the Wizards last season after he was acquired from the Atlanta Hawks in January, but it was only a five-game sample size before he was shut down.

The Wizards won the lottery to take Dybantsa with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft. He joins a core with Young, Davis, Bub Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr.

There's a lot of of interesting pieces in that group that everyone in Washington wants to see play together.

Davis can be a difference-maker for any team because of his two-way ability. If he helps lift the Wizards back to relevance, his leverage for the deal he wants will dramatically increase.