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Dec 25, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) before the game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Wizards Trade Deadline Grade: How We Rank Washington's Moves

Originally posted on Washington Wizards on SI
By Bryson Akins | Last updated Feb 5, 2026 5:00 PM ET

The deadline has passed, and no team can make a trade in the NBA until the offseason. Some teams took advantage of the deadline, while others stayed with the team they already had. The Washington Wizards, though, took full advantage of the deadline and might have come out the winners of it.

Not only did they trade for one All-NBA caliber player, but two! Early in January, they traded for Trae Young, and then they made a blockbuster deal to acquire Anthony Davis. Brighter days are clearly coming to Washington, but how does the Wizards on SI staff grade the team's moves this season?

Bryson Akins: A

The Wizards just turned a new chapter in their organization. They now have two legit threats on offense in Young and Davis. The highlight, though, is how seamlessly those two fit in with everyone else. Alex Sarr will be able to provide help on defense for Davis, which should keep him healthier.

The only reason this is not an A+ is due to the unknown for Davis. How healthy will he be, and will the team trade him again? We really have no clue, though the reports show the team plans to extend him. For now, though, I view the Wizards' deadline as the best in the league, and they get an A for it.

Henry Brown: A

The Washington Wizards continued proving themselves as among the NBA's most calculated asset managers with an unusually electric trade deadline showing, swinging two of the biggest deals of the season in bringing Anthony Davis and Trae Young over to D.C. without surrendering a single member of their young core or any of their own intriguing future draft assets.

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

While Young only cost Corey Kispert and CJ McCollum, the latter of whom only arrived in Washington as part of the Jordan Poole trade, Davis arrived at the expense of Khris Middleton, Marvin Bagley III, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, and two low-leverage draft picks from other teams. That batch of expiring- and fringe-assets has netted two proven quantities to pair with the Wizards' extensive young core in back-to-back low-risk, high-reward swings, with the household names and up-and-comers setting next season up for a long-awaited escape from the rebuild.

Owen Jury: A-

It’s hard to argue that any other team in the entire NBA had a better trade deadline than the Wizards. Not only did Washington offload multiple pieces that didn’t fit their long-term timeline and acquire All-NBA talent in return, but they also did so without losing any of their own draft capital. Under the new Will Dawkins regime, Washington has taken significant strides in the right direction and begun to break out of the once-seemingly everlasting rebuild.

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The only reason I wouldn’t consider this deadline an A+ is that it doesn’t seem like either Trae Young or Anthony Davis is truly in the team’s long-term plans. Signs point to the Wizards keeping them around for a few seasons to kick-start the team into playoff contention and build postseason experience before offloading the two and beginning a real title push. Either way you cut it, Washington had an amazing trade deadline that did nothing but push the team in the right direction.

Lane Mills : B+

The Washington Wizards have finally given both fans and general watchers a reason to take them seriously. Between trading for Trae Young and Anthony Davis, the front office was clearly tired of waiting for the rebuild to pay off by way of young talent alone.

Health definitely remains a worry, especially with Davis, but it’s hard not to like Washington taking big swings like these. The future is bright if the rest of the Wizards’ cards are played right.

This article first appeared on Washington Wizards on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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