WASHINGTON \u2014 Reports of Anthony Davis\u2019 unhappiness with being traded to the Washington Wizards are overblown, according to Anthony Davis.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said I said a lot of stuff in the other city, too, that I didn\u2019t say,\u201d Davis told The Athletic in a phone interview late Friday afternoon, in the midst of his first visit with the Wizards\u2019 ownership and front office. That group includes governor Ted Leonsis; Monumental president of media & new enterprises Zach Leonsis; president of Monumental Basketball Michael Winger; Wizards general manager Will Dawkins; and senior vice president of Monumental Basketball, John Thompson III.<\/p>\n
The Wizards traded for the 32-year-old Davis on Wednesday, sending four players and five draft picks to the Dallas Mavericks for Davis and guards D\u2019Angelo Russell, Jaden Hardy and Dant\u00e9 Exum.<\/p>\n
One report<\/a>, from Sports Illustrated\u2019s veteran NBA reporter Chris Mannix, suggested that Davis \u201clikely isn\u2019t enthusiastic about joining the Wizards,\u201d a sentiment Mannix reinforced on a podcast on Thursday.<\/a><\/p>\n Davis said he likes what he\u2019s seen so far.<\/p>\n \u201cThe visit\u2019s been great,\u201d he said. \u201cThey definitely welcomed me with open arms, spent some time with Ted and Zach. It\u2019s totally different from what they make it seem. I know it\u2019s like, oh, they have the stigma of they\u2019re not a good team. I haven\u2019t seen the practice facility yet, but the arena is top-notch, world-class for sure. Seen the chefs and how they take care of the families. It\u2019s been great.\u201d<\/p>\n The 10-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA first teamer, five-time All-Defensive selection and member of the NBA\u2019s 75th Anniversary team was surprised the Wizards jumped the line and made a deal for him. He has an open mind about the rebuild that Winger and Dawkins have initiated, which has brought in several young, promising players, including Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson and Bilal Coulibaly.<\/p>\n Still, Davis wants to have more detailed discussions with the team\u2019s braintrust about how it plans to get the franchise to not just playoff level, but also contender status.<\/p>\n Davis has a player option for the 2027-28 season at $62.7 million. He is under contract for next season at $58.4 million. (Davis had hand surgery in mid-January and was expected to be out at least six weeks, going into early March, before returning to the floor.)<\/p>\n \u201cI need to talk with Will, Ted, Zach, and kind of figure out what the actual plan is, and then just kind of go from there,\u201d Davis said. \u201cI talked briefly (Friday) with Will. Obviously, at this time, every year, you want to compete for championships and stuff like that. That\u2019s obviously the main focus, getting to that place. Conversations are going to be held to see about getting to that space. I\u2019ve been everywhere the last two years. I want to see the plan, hear the plan, see the vision. Bringing Trae (Young) here and other things in store, what they\u2019re thinking of doing, I want to have those conversations with them and see what happens. The city is obviously phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n Like many NBA players, Davis has loved coming through town over the years, whether with the Pelicans, Lakers or Mavericks.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s D.C. Who doesn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n However, as Beyonc\u00e9 once sang, Davis is looking for someone who can put a ring on it \u2014 a real shot at a second NBA championship to go with the ring he won with the Lakers in 2020.<\/p>\n He hoped he\u2019d have a chance to do so in Dallas, which shocked all of planet Earth a year ago by trading Luka Don\u010di\u0107 to Los Angeles for Davis in a multi-player, multi-pick deal. Former Mavericks GM Nico Harrison wanted to build a defense-first team around Davis, centers Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford, and wings Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington, with guard Kyrie Irving orchestrating it all.<\/p>\n Dallas\u2019 hopes for a quick turnaround were accelerated when the Mavericks overcame seemingly prohibitive odds to win the first pick in last year\u2019s draft and take Duke forward Cooper Flagg.<\/p>\n Davis has been hurt most of the year, though, playing in just 20 games. Irving is still rehabbing the torn ACL he suffered last March. Lively is out for the season after having foot surgery last December. And Harrison didn\u2019t make it to Thanksgiving before being fired.<\/a><\/p>\n Despite Flagg\u2019s great rookie season thus far, the Mavericks aren\u2019t anywhere close to being title contenders. Neither are the Wizards.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to say (I would definitely stay in D.C.) without the proper plan,\u201d Davis said. \u201cObviously, it\u2019s tough right now with the team. It shows with their record, but adding certain pieces, that can change. It\u2019s year by year. They could be the No. 1 team in the East next year.\u201d<\/p>\n Davis\u2019 agent, Rich Paul, said Friday that he, too, will speak with Dawkins at length about the team\u2019s long-term plans. The two had a brief conversation after the trade Thursday, but Paul said he wouldn\u2019t bring up extension talks with Dawkins and ownership for a while.<\/p>\n Paul acknowledged that neither the Mavericks nor the Wizards informed him about the deal before it was consummated,<\/a> but he downplayed the significance.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t have to do it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a courtesy thing, but they don\u2019t have to do it. Sometimes these are bang-bang things. \u2026 Guys get traded in the middle of the night all the time. They don\u2019t owe it to you.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul\u2019s Klutch Sports Group has a partnership with Leonsis\u2019 Monumental Sports and Entertainment, representing the parent company that owns the Wizards, Capitals and Mystics in potential revenue-producing opportunities<\/a>. MSE is in the middle of an $800 million renovation of Capital One Arena that began last year and is scheduled to conclude before the start of the 2027-28 NBA and NHL seasons. Klutch helped broker the deal between Monumental and the financial services company Robinhood in 2023 to become the Wizards\u2019 jersey-patch sponsor.<\/a><\/p>\n Paul also represents second-year guard Bub Carrington, one of the Wizards\u2019 three first-round picks in the 2024 draft, and rookie wing Will Riley, whose rights Washington acquired on draft night last year in a deal with the Utah Jazz. Riley scored a career-high 20 points as the Wizards upset the top-of-the-East Pistons Thursday in Detroit, even as Washington rested several starters in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n