Wizards general manager Will Dawkins anticipates Davis playing again this season even though Washington has the worst record in the Eastern Conference.
“The plan for A.D. right now is to go back to Dallas and finish his rehab,” Dawkins said. “He has a really good team down there. Our doctors met with them, and our medical staff’s going to go down with him. So, we want to keep that good thing going that he has.”
Davis is making $54.1 million this season. He’s eligible for a four-year, $275 million extension in August.
A top-75 player of all time, Davis turns 33 in March. He played in only 29 games with the Mavericks. Dallas acquired Davis from the Los Angeles Lakers last season in the stunning Luka Dončić trade.
Davis has played for the New Orleans Pelicans, Lakers and Mavericks. He’s a 10-time All-Star and one-time NBA champion with career averages of 24.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.3 blocks per game.
“A.D. is a special player, a special talent,” Dawkins said. “He obviously opens up so much on offense because he demands double-teams. He can score in different areas. Defensively, he’s been an anchor, rebounder, rim protector when you have him at the four (and) Alex at the five, protecting the paint. (With) Bilal, Kyshawn, Jamir (Watkins), some of our elite wing defenders out there, we want to be long. We want to be athletic. We want to be able to protect the paint better than we have. I think adding someone like him opens up the game(s) of a lot of our other players, but also allows him to be Anthony Davis, too.”
The Wizards acquired Trae Young from the Atlanta Hawks before trading for Davis. Young is recovering from a sprained right knee and bruised quadriceps.