Anthony Davis and the Washington Wizards are in no rush to get a new deal done. The two sides have mutually agreed to hold off on contract extension talks until after the 2026-27 season tips off, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk, rather than trying to hammer out an agreement during the dead of the offseason.
The timing is notable. Davis became eligible on Thursday to sign an extension worth up to four years and $275 million, the byproduct of a trade that sent him from Dallas to Washington last season and reshaped the direction of a rebuilding franchise. Instead of moving quickly, both sides are choosing to let the early part of the schedule play out first.
Why Washington and Davis Are Waiting
The logic behind the delay is straightforward. Sources indicate the plan gives both camps a look at roughly the first 20 games of the season before revisiting the extension question. For Davis, that stretch is a chance to evaluate the Wizards organization up close — how the front office is building around him, whether the roster shows real competitive growth, and what the franchise’s broader timeline looks like. For Washington, it’s an opportunity to see how Davis holds up physically and how he fits into a locker room that is still very much in transition.
Davis’ current deal runs through the 2027-28 season via a $62.8 million player option, the tail end of the three-year, $175.4 million extension he originally signed with the Lakers. Any new agreement with the Wizards would replace that option year with fresh, extended money — up to the four-year, $275 million max he’s now eligible for. That’s a significant financial swing for a player who will turn 34 in March, and it explains why neither side is treating this as a rubber-stamp formality.
Washington’s rebuild is still in its early innings. The Wizards finished with the league’s worst record last season at 17-65, and Davis appeared in only 20 games after a finger injury ended his year prematurely. In that limited sample, he still put up 20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 blocks a night — numbers that reaffirm his impact when healthy, even at this stage of his career. How he looks over an extended stretch to open this season will likely shape how both sides feel about locking in long term.
What This Means for Wizards Betting Markets
The tabled talks land at a moment when Washington already sits at the bottom of the league’s futures boards. The Wizards enter the season with championship odds among the longest of any team, and their win total projection reflects a roster still being built around the margins rather than positioned to contend immediately. A stalled extension does nothing to change that outlook in the short term, but it does add a layer of uncertainty that bettors tracking Wizards futures should watch closely.
The bigger number on the calendar for the betting market isn’t a game — it’s February 11, 2027, the NBA trade deadline. Because Davis’ current contract structure limits the size of raise the Wizards could offer him this month while still preserving trade flexibility down the line, the extension window and the trade deadline are now tied together in a way that matters for anyone pricing Washington’s season-long outlook. If the first 20 games go well and an extension gets done, Davis becomes a long-term centerpiece and a stabilizing force in Washington’s win total math. If the early results are shaky and no deal materializes, his name could resurface in trade speculation as that deadline approaches — a scenario that would immediately reshape both teams’ futures markets involved in any deal.
For now, the situation is a waiting game rather than a betting signal. But as training camp opens and the Wizards’ first 20 games play out, expect Washington’s futures numbers — and any Davis-specific player props tied to durability and workload — to move in step with how this extension conversation develops.
