Life hands out a lot of those “you can only understand it if you’ve been through it” experiences. And being on the wrong end of the Luka Dončić trade has to be one of them.
It wasn’t Anthony Davis’ fault that Nico Harrison made the incomprehensible move, but it had to have been difficult to hear or read his name over and over, as fans and analysts declared it the worst trade in league history.
Just 12 months later, though, AD has a shot to rewrite the narrative on that deal, and really, his entire legacy in the NBA.
On Wednesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Davis is getting another fresh start, this time with the Washington Wizards.
His exit from the New Orleans Pelicans was, to put generously, a mess. And while his five-plus seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers brought a title, multiple All-Star nods and multiple All-NBA selections, it also cemented the general takeaway from his time with New Orleans:
As the unquestioned alpha with the Pelicans, he made just two playoff appearances and never advanced further than the second round. In L.A., he was the Robin to LeBron James’ Batman.
And though there happened to be one team executive who thought he was good enough to headline the return in a trade for Luka, the Dallas Mavericks became rookie Cooper Flagg’s team on draft lottery night.
As soon as the basketball gods blessed Dallas with Flagg, an eventual Davis trade felt more than likely. When Harrison was fired in November, the eventuality morphed into a foregone conclusion.
Now that it’s happened, it might be fair to look at this situation as maybe the best chance AD’s ever had to cement his individual legacy.
No, this trade doesn’t suddenly make the Wizards an obvious Eastern Conference title contender. In fact, don’t be surprised if Washington continues to stack up losses and be overly conservative with injury timelines.
But next year, when Trae Young and Davis are presumably healthy, and when all of this season’s losing leads them to one of Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa or some other 2026 draft prospect, Washington could be a very real threat to make the Finals.
It’ll just depend on Davis.
He is, without question, the best player on his team again. He hasn’t been in this situation since he was with New Orleans. And he’s about to play with a volume distributor who fits his game better than any of his previous teammates did.
LeBron is obviously an all-timer in that category, but he’s more of a “drive to the hoop, draw the defense with you and kick out to a shooter” type. As much as AD may believe otherwise, he’s not a good outside shooter.
Since the start of his first season with the Lakers, his effective field-goal percentage on all shots from 15 feet and out is a woeful 39.5 (and his regular field-goal percentage on those shots is just 33.3).
Trae is the kind of playmaker who can maximize a big man’s effectiveness around the hoop. Few in the league are better at manipulating pick-and-roll defenders and throwing a perfect lob pass at the exact moment the opposing big is in a compromised position.
Davis will surely want plenty of on-ball opportunities where he can cook a little, throw some jab steps and try to score from the mid-range. But pick-and-roll possessions with Trae could supercharge his overall efficiency.
Young is, in some ways, a near-ideal complement to Davis on that end of the floor. And on the other, Davis can erase a lot of Trae’s deficiencies.
AD isn’t the defensive force he was at his physical peak, but he’s still one of the league’s best rim protectors and anchors. He and Alex Sarr together can make the paint an awfully hostile area for opposing slashers. And while Young’s lax perimeter defense was often a death knell for the Atlanta Hawks, it’ll often be filtering guards into a gigantic backline in Washington.
Assume for a second that one of the top prospects from this draft goes to the Wizards, too. Right now, they have an 11.5 percent chance to land the top overall selection and a 45.2 percent chance to pick in the top four.
Players like Dybantsa or Caleb Wilson may need a little time to adjust to the league, but someone like Boozer, as a fourth or fifth option behind Davis, Young, Sarr and Tre Johnson, could help right away.
With two big names now on the roster, Washington might even be able to land a difference-maker with a mid-level exception contract this summer too.
As crazy as it may sound to hear, given the Wizards’ decades-long track record of general ineptitude, in the NBA’s lesser conference, this team could make a deep playoff run as early as 2027.
If it does, Davis would finally be able to put the idea that he can’t lead a team to title contention to rest.
And he and Young (who was also, once upon a time, swapped for Dončić) can redefine what it means to be on the “wrong” side of a Luka trade.