An Anthony Davis Trade Idea the Washington Wizards Can't Refuse

The Washington Wizards have three words ready for Anthony Davis trade suitors: We're not interested.

We have four words to send back the Wizards' way: You sure about that?

While the Wizards are signaling "no interest in trading" Davis and are reportedly "not listening to offers for him," per Andscape's Marc J. Spears, they're also perhaps ignoring Davis' awful timeline fit with the rest of this roster. Even Trae Young, the most win-now player in Washington's core, is six years Davis' junior.

The Wizards need better long-term synchronization as they work to cultivate the ideal environment for No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa to grow. They can't get that with Davis, who will be eligible to sign a four-year extension worth $275 million come early August.

What the Wizards actually need, then, is a ready and willing trade partner. Particularly one with more attractive assets than a 36-year-old Jimmy Butler still recovering from a January ACL tear. One perhaps exactly like the Houston Rockets, who might be eyeing a dramatic shakeup to keep pace in the hypercompetitive Western Conference.

Full Trade Scenario

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Washington Wizards receive: Alperen Şengün and Dorian Finney-Smith

Houston Rockets receive: Anthony Davis, Justin Champagnie and 2029 first-round pick (via BOS, MIL or POR)

Why the Rockets Do It

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Houston has some young talent, but this team clearly has win-now intentions. Why else would Kevin Durant, Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams—all 32 and over—be Space City residents?

What the Rockets may not have is enough win-now talent to hang with the best in the West.

While everyone appears a tier behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, that tier is actively aiming for upgrades (or has already made them). The Minnesota Timberwolves took a big swing on LaMelo Ball. The Los Angeles Lakers paid a fortune for Walker Kessler. The Portland Trail Blazers overloaded (overcrowded?) their backcourt with Ja Morant. The Phoenix Suns sacrificed an unprotected first-round pick for Miles Bridges. The Golden State Warriors are courting LeBron James. The Denver Nuggets are, in their own words, weighing everything other than a Nikola Jokic trade.

It's an all-out arms race—and legs race, torso race and head race, too—and it's one the Rockets have notably sat out so far. The lack of activity does not, however, indicate the lack of desire for change. As Yahoo Sports' Kelly Iko put it, Houston has kept its ears and minds open while giving potential trade partners the impression that "23-year-old Amen Thompson is the only near untouchable on the roster."

Big changes might yet be on the menu, then, and there aren't many realistic ones that would qualify as bigger than adding the Brow. Davis might have more than his share of availability concerns, but he is an elite producer whenever he hits the hardwood. You could cautiously pencil him in for 20/10/2 and realistically hope for more like 25/12/2.5.

While he played only 71 games over the past two seasons combined, he made 75 appearances in the prior campaign. He also made All-NBA second team, All-Defensive first team and finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting that season.

The Rockets could have a cheat-code defensive combo with Davis and Thompson (not to mention the recently signed Marcus Smart), plus an overpowered offensive pairing with Davis and Durant. VanVleet would be around to keep everyone fed, while Jabari Smith Jr. and Reed Sheppard would operate with a neon-green light to attack any spacing concerns. A twin-tower tandem of Davis and Adams could be a necessary change-of-pace option in a league that's really stressing size again.

It may not all add up to an on-paper favorite in the West, but if everyone stays healthy, it's a group that could hang with or even knock off those favorites come playoff time. Stars matter most in this league, and the healthy versions of Durant and Davis remain two of basketball's brightest. The Rockets might rather roll the dice on keeping them upright than waiting and hoping that Şengün one day ascends to the level where (when healthy) Davis already resides.

Houston would bring back a future first to help account for the age (and availability) difference between Davis and Şengün, and maybe it could see Justin Champagnie soaking up some of the three-and-D duties that Dorian Finney-Smith was supposed to fill.

Why the Wizards Do It

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Not to beat the whole number-of-words thing to death, but Washington's rationale boils down to just two of them: Organizational alignment.

From the moment Davis landed in The District, he has looked out of place. While the young Wizards are doing what they can to eventually find their way back to competitiveness, he's clinging to the remainder of his prime and looking to contend with however much time he has left. When pressed about his future with the franchise in April, all he could offer was "we'll kind of see what happens," per The Athletic's Josh Robbins.

Swap out Davis for Alperen Şengün, and suddenly the Wizards have a treasure trove of 25-and-under talent following the lead of the 27-year-old Young. Their future might be too bright to view without protective lenses, while their present could turn promising in a hurry with a pair of multi-time All-Stars leading the charge.

Ideally, one of Şengün or Alex Sarr would grow more efficient from three-point territory, but there's still an impressive amount of offense-defense balance without it. Şengün is an offensive hub with ballet-graceful footwork and a bevy of scoring moves around the cylinder. Sarr is an all-purpose stopper and vertical spacer who should feast on lob deliveries from Young (and Şengün in hard-to-handle big-to-big actions).

Tack on the superstar potential of Dybantsa and the too-numerous-to-name support pieces in this young core, and you're looking at a potential Eastern Conference powerhouse down the line. One that just might be ready to rise right as current heavyweights like the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers begin to backtrack.

That's a future the Wizards should want to live in. And it's absolutely worth the cost of a future first-round pick (notably, a second-most favorable selection) and absorbing the rest of Dorian Finney-Smith's deal.