The Washington Wizards made waves this summer when they signed Jonas Valanciunas in free agency. The move wasn’t seismic in terms of Valanciunas’ talent, per se, but more because nobody expected him to join Washington.
Valanciunas is slated to be a solid mentor for rookie Alex Sarr, who Washington selected with the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft. Sarr also struggled mightily in Summer League, so he could use a veteran presence.
But the Wizards weren’t the only team interested in Valanciunas in free agency. Reports indicated that LeBron James would have taken a larger pay cut had the Los Angeles Lakers been able to snag Valanciuas.
The Lakers still want Jonas Valanciunas, so the Wizards may have scammed them into a trade
And while Valanciunas will be wearing red, white, and blue for now, Brian Windhorst of ESPN doesn’t think people should rule out the possibility of seeing him in purple and gold in the near future. He said as much on The Hoop Collective.
Hearing Windhorst, who has been covering James closely for his entire career, hint at the idea that Valanciunas could be on the Lakers this year means something. It’s significant.
Obviously, the main point of bringing Valanciunas on board in Washington is to help Sarr and the rest of their young core. But it could be a nice way to scam the Lakers, too.
Rather than letting the Lakers get Valanciunas in free agency, the Wizards capitalized on their own interest in the big man, and they could end up getting a decent return from LA midseason.
It’s unclear what they could get back in a potential deal, but the Lakers would have to match Valanciunas’ contract, and he’s set to make roughly $10 million per season in Washington.
That would mean the Lakers would have to send back someone like Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, or former Wizards Rui Hachimura in a deal, which would mean they would likely also have to include draft picks.
Valanciunas is a fine player, and he should help the Wizards play in some competitive basketball games during the upcoming season. That, plus his mentorship for the young players, made the deal worthwhile.
But the fact that they could end up trading him for draft picks during the year makes it even sweeter, especially because, in a way, they scammed the Lakers.