Wizards unlikely to meet Davis' max extension ask, The Athletic reports
The Washington Wizards are unlikely to give Anthony Davis the max or near-max extension he wants, The Athletic reported. Other NBA teams widely know Davis is seeking a max-level contract on his next deal, according to The Athletic, and no offer has been reported.
Davis holds a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28 under his existing contract. Declining it would make him eligible for a four-year extension through 2030-31, worth up to $275 million according to RealGM and about $276 million according to Yardbarker.
"There's almost no chance the Wizards will give him that max extension," The Athletic wrote. It cited his injury history, his age, the team's stage of development and "the punitive first and second aprons looming."
RealGM noted that Davis turns 34 in March and has topped 62 regular-season games once in the last eight years, in 2023-24. He appeared in 20 games last season, averaging 20.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.7 blocks before a hand injury ended his season, Yardbarker reported.
Washington acquired Davis from the Mavericks at last season's trade deadline along with Jaden Hardy, D'Angelo Russell and Dante Exum, according to Yardbarker. The Wizards then re-signed Trae Young to a four-year, $213 million deal this summer, which RealGM wrote likely makes them less willing to commit similar money to Davis.
The team also wants to preserve flexibility for a possible max rookie-scale extension for AJ Dybantsa, this year's No. 1 pick, that would begin in 2030-31, RealGM reported. Extensions for Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George would start in 2028-29, and Bilal Coulibaly is extension-eligible now, with an Oct. 19 deadline.
General manager Will Dawkins addressed Davis at his season-opening news conference. "What I will say is, AD is in a great frame of mind," Dawkins said. "He's focused and ready to start the season. I would say he's very much a motivated player right now, and I expect AD to remind the basketball world who he really is."
Davis has said talks can wait until the season ends. "When the season is over. I'm going to go through the season, try to 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," he said, in remarks carried by Yardbarker.
In the WAGE ledger, Davis' $54.1 million salary ranked 8th of the 435 rated players last season, while his production ranked 269th.
He played 20 of his team's 82 games in 2025-26, and about $40.9 million of the salary went to games he did not play.
That left him with a WAGE Score of 1 for 2025-26, in the Sunk Cost tier, a reading of what last season's money bought, not of his health now.
The Athletic suggested a lower-max compromise along the lines of Kevin Durant's two-year extension with the Houston Rockets, signed in 2025 and averaging $45 million, as possible common ground. RealGM reported that Davis' future in Washington could come into focus before the Feb. 11 trade deadline.