Wizards building nothing out of something with wild Anthony Davis trade

The Wizards did well not parting with any meaningful (i.e., their own) draft capital, but by taking on the bloated contracts in exchange for Middleton and CJ McCollum's expiring ones, they're restricted in what they can do moving forward. As NBA salary-cap analyst Yossi Gozlan noted on social media, the deals move Washington from $30 million under the tax to $5.5 million below.

While the Wiz weren't going to get more talented players than Trae Young or Davis to sign in free agency, the decisions to trade for both attach the organization to two stars who don't necessarily fit its young timeline. Of the Wizards' top five contributors, Kyshawn George, 22, is the oldest. The team has several young, recent lottery additions, including small forward Bilal Coulibaly, the No. 7 overall pick of the 2023 draft, center Alexandre Sarr and point guard Bub Carrington, Nos. 2 and 14 in 2024, respectively and shooting guard Tre Johnson, 2025's No. 6 overall selection. 

Young, 27, is closer in age, but his poor defense will do little to improve a team that's No. 29 in defensive rating. Davis, a five-time All-Defensive Team member, will be a much bigger help in that regard. But approaching his 33rd birthday (March 11), he'd be better suited on a team capable of competing for a championship than one splitting itself in two directions.

With both players' injury history, it's also uncertain how often the duo will be on the court at the same time. Young (quad) has yet to make his Wizards debut and will be reevaluated after the All-Star break, while Davis (hand) last played on Jan. 8, with Mavs public relations reporting on Jan. 13 he "is expected to heal ... in approximately six weeks."

The two stars have combined to play 30 games this season. Davis has missed at least 20 games in six of his last eight seasons, dating back to his final year with the New Orleans Pelicans (2018-19). The historically more reliable Young also missed 28 games due to injury in 2023-24. What's the over-under on how many times the duo actually suits up at the same time? 20 games? 30?

Adding Davis is unlikely to elevate Washington to much more than a fringe playoff team, making this a curious move for a team in a position to organically grow around a young core. It's unclear what the Wizards (13-36, 14th in Eastern Conference) are trying to accomplish, but if they think they're closer to relevancy by acquiring the oft-injured Davis, they've set themselves up for a major disappointment.