Headed into the 2024-25 NBA season, the Washington Wizards are a team that many feel will be very active in trade discussions leading up to the deadline.
With plenty of veteran pieces that are clearly not long-term fits, they could swing quite a few moves. One name to keep a close eye on will be veteran center Jonas Valanciunas.
The Wizards signed the veteran big man during the offseason to a three-year, $30 million deal. He will almost certainly open the year as the starting center, but will probably end up as a trade chip.
Well, a potential trade destination has opened up in a big way. An ideal opportunity for Washington to get some good value out of Valanciunas is there.
According to a report from new ESPN insider Shams Charania, the Los Angeles Lakers are shopping the market for a big man.
“The Lakers have been exploring, you know, potentially adding a big man, a center to their roster,” Charania reported.
Since they added Valanciunas, the Lakers have been talked about as a team that could look to trade for him. It seems like they’re picking up their pursuit of a center.
Valanciunas would be a very intriguing fit in LA, bringing rebounding and an underrated game on the offensive side of the court. He will definitely be one of the pieces the Lakers need if they’re serious about competing in the stacked Western Conference.
This past season with the New Orleans Pelicans, Valanciunas played in all 82 games. He averaged 14.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. Complementing those, he shot 55.9 percent from the floor and did knock down 30.8 percent of his limited three-point attempts.
Those numbers would be exactly what Los Angeles is looking to add. He’s 32 years old and could be a multi-year answer at center.
It feels like this would be a marriage made in heaven. If the Lakers are willing to give up some good value in return, it could easily turn out to be a deal that goes down at one point in time prior to t he trade deadline.
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