Anthony Davis may welcome a return to Los Angeles, but do the Lakers actually envision a reunion?
Recently, it was reported that Davis, who was sent to the Dallas Mavericks in a groundbreaking February 2025 trade, is open to becoming a Laker again, according to ESPN’s Scott Kaplan (h/t Ricardo Sandoval of Lakers on SI), who revealed that he overheard NBA reporters saying that Davis is “keen” on reuniting with the franchise that traded for him in 2019.
“One of these reporters started saying to another one of these reporters, ‘Well, I hear that Anthony Davis wants to return to the Lakers,’” Kaplan said.
A Lakers-Davis Reunion Doesn’t Appear Likely
Davis has been routinely involved in NBA trade rumors. A 10-time All-Star, Davis, now of the Washington Wizards, is expected to be a prime trade candidate around the deadline in February. Especially if Davis looks like the scoring machine he was against the Detroit Pistons earlier this week, teams will come calling for the big man … just (probably) not the Lakers.
“A healthy version of Davis remains a dominant force. Just ask the Detroit Pistons, who just found themselves on the wrong end of his 44-point, 13-rebound eruption,” wrote Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley. “But Davis’ struggles staying healthy are well-documented, and they certainly won’t get easier to manage as he probes deeper into his 30s. They also create questions about his desire for top dollar, which is one of several reasons — along with frustration and timeline — to wonder whether his time with Washington will last much longer. Buzzy talks about a possible return to the Los Angeles Lakers don’t have legs, but Davis could be a massive get for the right shopper.”
If Davis is truly interested in returning to the Lakers, one would immediately picture the foursome of Davis, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler. A healthy Davis would make the Lakers a serious contender for this year’s NBA championship. But most understand that Davis with L.A.’s current trio is likely only possible if the big man were bought out by the Wizards and chose to take a pretty steep pay cut to sign with the Lakers.
A Trade for Davis Would Be Extremely Difficult
While the Lakers could, theoretically, trade for Davis, would it make sense for L.A. to move several players to execute a deal?
“The thing with AD that I’ve mentioned recently is that he is just making too much money (that) it’s difficult for L.A. to execute a trade for him without giving up Walker (Kessler) or Austin (Reaves),” Lakers journalist Jovan Buha said during a recent live stream episode of his “Buha’s Block” podcast. “There is a way to do a four-for-one (trade) (Quentin) Grimes, (Sandro) Mamu(kelashvili) (Jarred Vanderbilt) and (Collin) Sexto, but now you’re decimating your depth, you’re gonna have to pay AD — he’s gonna want a contract extension — and there’s no guarantee that he’s able to make it through 82 games plus the playoffs.”
L.A. would likely be faced with having to gut its roster to land Davis in a trade. While Davis may be worth that price tag based on the sheer talent and firepower he possesses, he is an older player with a notoriously rich injury history.
Besides, if the Lakers, who are off to the best start to a season since their title-winning 2019-20 campaign, maintain pace, they would have no incentive to shake up the roster to acquire one more star.
Lakers Hit With Bad News on Potential Anthony Davis Trade Amid New Report