The Los Angeles Lakers bringing back Anthony Davis to Hollywood after the Luka Doncic trade would be the textbook definition of having your cake and eating it too. The craziest part thing here is the possibility should not be totally ruled out from the realm of realism either.
Those paying attention to the developments coming from the capital of the USA would quickly notice the presumably awkward marriage between Davis and the Washington Wizards has already shown its cracks. NBA insider Chris Haynes made it clear just over a month ago that AD ending up elsewhere before playing a single game in those threads was quite plausible.
Davis is still talented enough that Lakers fans cannot help but discuss the idea of bringing him back. Check the socials and it does not take long before finding someone who believes a reunion in Los Angeles is a good idea. There are polarizing ends to defend both the pros and the cons here.
Anthony Davis would fit with Luka Doncic like a glove on the Lakers
Starting off the case for why the Lakers would want him back, the answer is pretty straight forward. If you could build a big man in a lab to be paired with Doncic, the result would not be too dissimilar to what Davis looks like.
The former Laker could easily be envisioned operating off Doncic in the pick and roll. If Davis and LeBron James could make it work, so can AD and Luka. That would be a deadly duo on offense.
More exciting than that would be having Davis as a defensive anchor. At his best, the former Lakers champion can control the paint, switch onto more athletic players on the perimeter, and make up for the deficiencies in Doncic's game on that end.
Davis brings ideal two-way impact in the way that Luka loves. It would involve him finally accepting his fate as a center, not a power forward, but the fit would be excellent when those two are playing together.
Anthony Davis' health, age, and contract should all terrify the Lakers
If you thought "when those two are playing together" was a careful choice of words, it was. Is it tiresome to keep talking about Davis' health? For sure. Does that erase the conversation being relevant? Not at all.
Davis has played 71 regular season games over the last two seasons. There is nuance as to why so much action was missed, but it does still serve as a painful reminder of the never-ending obstacle that is keeping AD out of street clothes.
At 33 years old, it is not going to get much easier for the Lakers either. There is a lot of mileage on Davis' body, and the concerns over him staying on the court are not going to go away anytime soon.
The Lakers would have to navigate that while also figuring out how much to pay Davis on his next contract. The Wizards big could fit free agency as soon as 2027 if he were to decline his $62.8 million player option for 2027-28. Although, he really should not want to with that big of a number.
In the short term, if the Lakers were reuniting with AD, they would immediately need to sell Austin Reaves on the idea of taking a team-friendly contract to bring back his buddy. Even if Reaves accepted that, Davis would be the biggest cap hit on the books for the Lakers from the jump and limit the other spending they could do in free agency.
Is that a worthwhile gamble on a 33-year-old with health concerns?
Perhaps one could argue it is. There are no better options in free agency for a starting center than Davis. Realistically, though, the move to add back their former star could just prove to be a case of kicking the can one or two years down the road with the center position.
Maybe Davis could stay healthy, age gracefully, and take a team-friendly contract to remain in Los Angeles when the time comes. However, that maybe is the size of a small mountain.
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