<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/wizards-news-washington-waives-player-acquired-kings-jonas-valanciunas-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Wizards waive player acquired from Kings in Jonas Valanciunas trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Washington-waives-player-acquired-from-Kings-in-Jonas-Valanciunas-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>Wizards waive player acquired from Kings in Jonas Valanciunas trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-06T08:52:42-08:00">February 6th, 8:52am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-06T08:52:42-08:00">February 6th, 8:52am</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Washington Wizards may make a few moves before the day of the trade deadline, as it looks like they’re going to focus on their young players for the remainder of the season. After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bucks-news-milwaukee-kyle-kuzma-trade-knicks-center">trading Kyle Kuzma to the Milwaukee Bucks</a>, they later traded Jonas Valanciunas to the Sacramento Kings. In return, the Wizards acquired Sidy Cissoko, but they’ve <a href="https://x.com/MikeAScotto/status/1887511169306333510" rel="noopener">decided to waive him</a>, according to Michael Scotto.</p><p>Cissoko was the 44th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and played in 29 games for the San Antonio Spurs. With him now being waived, that gives the Wizards an open roster spot to use in another trade. The Wizards could always bring back Cissoko on a two-way contract, as he’s an intriguing player who has skills on the defensive side of the ball.</p><h2>Wizards looking to start fresh with young core</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Jonas-Valanciunas.jpg"><figcaption>Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Wizards made a flurry of moves on the day before the trade deadline, and their first order of business was trading Kyle Kuzma to the Milwaukee Bucks. Kuzma had been in trade rumors since the start of the season, and several teams were looking to acquire him. The Bucks came in at the end and were able to acquire him, and he should be a big help to their team as they try to stay competitive throughout the season. In return, the Wizards were able to get Khris Middleton and AJ Johnson, and it looks like they may be staying put on the team for now.</p><p>The writing was on the wall for Middleton on the Bucks, as he just couldn’t stay healthy and was getting older. At one point, head coach Doc Rivers thought that it was best to move Middleton to the bench and not play him extensive minutes to keep him fresh. As for Johnson, he’s shown the ability to knock down shots at a high rate and could be a good piece for the Wizards’ future.</p><p>Later on, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/kings-news-wizards-trade-jonas-valanciunas">Wizards traded Jonas Valanciunas</a>, another player who had been in trade rumors since the start of the season. The hope was that Valanciunas could help Alex Sarr early on in his rookie season, and he may have been successful in doing so after watching how he’s played over the past few weeks.</p><p>The Wizards are buying into the young core they have with Sarr, Jordan Poole, Bilal Coulibaly, and more, but they also have some veterans, such as Middleton, who can help them throughout the season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Wizards waive player acquired from Kings in Jonas Valanciunas trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/wizards-trade-grade-jonas-valanciunas-deal');   ga('set', 'title', 'Wizards trade grade for Jonas Valanciunas deal');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Wizards-trade-grade-for-Jonas-Valanciunas-deal.jpg"></figure><h1>Wizards trade grade for Jonas Valanciunas deal</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-06T01:37:43-08:00">February 6th, 1:37am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-06T10:05:38-08:00">February 6th, 10:05am</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor and Washington Wizards/Mystics reporter for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Washington <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wizards-2024-offseason-shape-rebuild">Wizards were a young team</a> coming into the season, but now they truly embody the “Wiz Kids” nickname. Hours after landing 20-year-old guard AJ Johnson in the Kyle Kuzma deal, they got fellow 20-year-old guard Sidy Cissoko in the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/kings-news-wizards-trade-jonas-valanciunas">Jonas Valanciunas trade</a>.</p><p><b>UPDATE: </b>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wizards-news-washington-waives-player-acquired-kings-jonas-valanciunas-trade">Wizards waived Sissoko</a> on Thursday, which opens a roster spot. However, they could bring him back if he clears waivers.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/wizards-trade-jonas-valanciunas-to-kings" rel="noopener">full details of the</a> latter move are below, via NBA.com.</p><p><b>Wizards receive:</b></p><ul><li>Sidy Cissoko</li><li>2028 second-round pick</li><li>2029 second-round pick</li></ul><p><b>Sacramento Kings receive:</b></p><p>Jonas Valanciunas</p><p>Unlike Kuzma, Valanciunas didn’t spend much time in Washington before getting shipped out. The Wizards acquired the 32-year-old for a 2027 second-rounder in a sign-and-trade with the New Orleans Pelicans on July 6, but he was never a long-term fit. Rather, he was a temporary role model for No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr before Washington likely flipped him at the deadline.</p><p>Valanciunas served as the rookie’s backup, averaging 11.5 points on 54.7% shooting with 8.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists across 20 minutes per game before moving to a superior Kings team. The Lithuanian international’s three-year, $30 million contract is now off of the Wizards’ books, so they essentially turned the ’27 pick into Cissoko and two later picks. Rostering Valanciunas for a few months was a bonus.</p><p>While the trade isn’t surprising, Washington’s possible plan with Sissoko is.</p><h2><b>Wizards trade grade: B-</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Sidy-Cissoko.jpg"><figcaption>Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>At first glance, adding another young French international on a team with Sarr and Bilal Coulibaly seems like a fun storyline for the fanbase. Bullets Forever’s Matt Modderno <a href="https://twitter.com/MattModderno/status/1887262914266210693" rel="noopener">even welcomed the</a> former San Antonio Spur with a France-themed post, via social media.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bonjour to the newest member of The Baguette Boys! <a href="https://t.co/GFtNM7EeMP">https://t.co/GFtNM7EeMP</a> <a href="https://t.co/dz7bHFrkKe">pic.twitter.com/dz7bHFrkKe</a></p><p>— Matt Modderno (@MattModderno) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattModderno/status/1887262914266210693?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>However, Washington will waive Sissoko <a href="https://x.com/JeffZillgitt/status/1887279650402869438" rel="noopener">for financial flexibility</a>, via USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt. With that being said, the 2023 No. 44 overall pick is making only $1.8 million this season and $2.2 million next year before hitting restricted free agency, and the Wizards are $12.3 million under the first apron. What gives?</p><p>The Wizards may want to use Sissoko’s roster spot to promote one of their two-way players to a fully guaranteed deal, such as Justin Champagnie or Jared Butler. This would make sense, as Champagnie is averaging 7.7 points on 51.1% shooting with 4.6 rebounds across 18.8 minutes per game this season, while Butler has 6.9 points on 48.3% shooting with 2.6 assists across 11.3 minutes. Conversely, Sissoko has just 1.3 points on 50% shooting across 3.2 minutes.</p><p>Washington could then bring the 6-foot-6, 200-pounder back on either a two-way or standard G League deal if he clears waivers. Sissoko averaged 16.3 points on 48.9% shooting with 4.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists across 27.6 minutes per game for the Austin Spurs (San Antonio Spurs’ affiliate) this season, so he could shine on the Capital City Go-Go (Wizards’ affiliate) while he develops.</p><p>This grade becomes a “C,” though, if the Wizards cut Sissoko and never bring him back. In that case, they would’ve simply given Sacramento financial relief after it acquired him in the De’Aron Fox deal just three days prior.</p><p>Washington does now <a href="https://www.nba.com/wizards/news/washington-acquires-draft-capital-from-sacramento" rel="noopener">own multiple second-rounders</a> in each year from 2026-30, via the team’s press release. That gives it plenty of capital to either trade or pick players with, but it’s also good to keep young talent that’s already in the league.</p><p>If Sissoko stays, the rebuilding Wizards will have six players 21 years old or younger: him, Johnson, Sarr, Coulibaly, Bub Carrington, and Kyshawn George. If one or two of them eventually become All-Stars while the others settle as role players, the team will be a perennial contender.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Wizards trade grade for Jonas Valanciunas deal

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/kings-news-wizards-trade-jonas-valanciunas');   ga('set', 'title', 'Wizards trade Jonas Valanciunas to Kings');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Wizards-trade-Jonas-Valanciunas-to-Sacramento.jpg"></figure><h1>Wizards trade Jonas Valanciunas to Kings</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-05T14:06:06-08:00">February 5th, 2:06pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-05T14:18:02-08:00">February 5th, 2:18pm</time><address><a>Brett Siegel</a>Brett Siegel joined ClutchPoints as a credentialed NBA insider and reporter in May 2023 after previously covering the NBA for Fastbreak on FanNation and NBA Analysis Network, as well as working with Louisville Basketball. From playing to coaching to covering the game as a media member, Brett has been involved with the game of basketball from many different perspectives. Breaking the news of various free agent signings, yearly NBA Draft news and other key stories around the league, Brett is always on the phone, getting the latest news and rumors around the NBA. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BrettSiegelNBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Sacramento Kings have acquired center Jonas Valanciunas from the Washington Wizards in exchange for Sidy Cissoko and two second-round picks, league sources confirmed to ClutchPoints. This trade was <a href="https://x.com/TheSteinLine/status/1887258676672799177" rel="noopener">first reported by NBA insider Marc Stein</a>.</p><p>Valanciunas, 32, had been a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-jonas-valanciunas-nuggets-other-west-contenders-radars">hot topic of trade discussions around the league</a> in recent days leading up to the NBA trade deadline. After signing a three-year contract with the Wizards in free agency, it was expected that Washington would look to flip the veteran at the deadline for second-round draft assets.</p><p>Along with acquiring Cissoko, a young French wing with potential for growth, the Wizards are also adding two second-round picks after the Kings added a handful of them in their <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/kings-news-deaaron-fox-trade-spurs-zach-lavine-kings">trade with the San Antonio Spurs involving De’Aaron Fox</a>.</p><p>Kings big man Domantas Sabonis is now reunited with his Lithuanian national team teammate in Valanciunas.</p><p>In a total of 49 games this season, Valanciunas has averaged 11.5 points and 8.2 rebounds in roughly 20.1 minutes per game. He now creates a very strong one-two frontcourt punch for the Kings, providing much-needed depth behind Sabonis as a veteran with a very similar style of play.</p><p>Valanciunas had drawn a lot of interest around the league throughout the trade period. In addition to being mentioned with the Los Angeles Lakers, the veteran center was also on the <a href="https://x.com/JakeLFischer/status/1887259301338882326" rel="noopener">Denver Nuggets’ radar</a>, according to Jake Fischer.</p><p>This trade for the Wizards comes hours after they acquired Khris Middleton and AJ Johnson from the Milwaukee Bucks for Kyle Kuzma.</p><p>Washington continues to rebuild by stockpiling unwanted contracts and draft assets, which they have once again done in this trade with the Kings. Cissoko is only 20 years old and will be turning 21 in April. The 44th overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft has spent a lot of time developing behind the scenes and in the G League early on in his career.</p><p>He now joins Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr as other French players on the Wizards’ roster.</p><p>Sacramento has continued to round out their roster with win-now talents in the wake of trading Fox. The Kings have 13 players under contract with little room until reaching the first apron.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Wizards trade Jonas Valanciunas to Kings

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-jonas-valanciunas-guerschon-yabusele-among-knicks-trade-targets');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Jonas Valanciunas, Guerschon Yabusele among Knicks trade targets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Jonas-Valanciunas-Guerschon-Yabusele-among-Knicks-trade-targets.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Jonas Valanciunas, Guerschon Yabusele among Knicks trade targets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-04T12:55:22-08:00">February 4th, 12:55pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-04T14:05:14-08:00">February 4th, 2:05pm</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Knicks, currently holding a 33-17 record and sitting third in the Eastern Conference, are actively looking to strengthen their frontcourt ahead of the February 6 trade deadline. With Mitchell Robinson recently cleared for full contact on Monday but still working his way back from an ankle injury, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-mitchell-robinson-2025-nba-trade-deadline">Knicks are exploring trade options for additional size and depth</a>.</p><p>According to SNY’s Ian Begley, New York has <a href="https://sny.tv/articles/knicks-nets-trade-deadline-primer-2025" rel="noopener">inquired about</a> Washington Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas, Philadelphia 76ers forward Guerschon Yabusele, and New Orleans Pelicans center Daniel Theis.</p><p>Valanciunas, 32, has remained a productive presence in the paint for Washington, averaging 11.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 54.7% from the field over 49 games this season.</p><p>His three-point shooting has dipped to 25.9%, a notable drop from his usual efficiency beyond the arc, where he had previously shot over 30% for five straight seasons. Valanciunas is under contract for $9.9 million this season with his deal running through 2026-27 at $10 million annually.</p><h2><b>Guerschon Yabusele’s recent surge adds intrigue to Knicks’ trade considerations</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Guerschon-Yabusele-28-reacts-after-missing-a-shot-against-the-New-York-Knicks.jpg"><figcaption>© Bill Streicher-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/76ers-news-guerschon-yabusele-gets-real-on-trade-possibility-ahead-of-deadline">Yabusele, 29, joined the 76ers on a one-year, $2 million contract</a> after a strong showing with the French national team at the Paris Olympics. He has outperformed expectations, averaging 11.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 51.5% from the field and 40.2% from three-point range in 46 games.</p><p>His production has increased in recent weeks, with Yabusele posting 15.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game over his last five outings. He delivered a career-high 28-point performance against the Denver Nuggets, shooting 12-for-17 from the field and 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. He’s had increased opportunities with injuries to Joel Embiid and Paul George.</p><p>Theis, 32, is contributing 4.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 47.3% from the field and 24.3% from three-point range across 38 games for the Pelicans. He is currently on a $2 million contract with New Orleans, a team that has struggled with injuries and sits at 12-38 this season.</p><p>The Knicks’ search for frontcourt help highlights their push to solidify their rotation for the postseason. With the trade deadline approaching, New York is evaluating its options carefully, weighing potential deals that could provide the necessary depth to remain competitive in the Eastern Conference.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Jonas Valanciunas, Guerschon Yabusele among Knicks trade targets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/lakers-news-lebron-james-flexes-dunk-on-jonas-valanciunas-with-powerful-age-post');   ga('set', 'title', 'Lakers’ LeBron James flexes dunk on Jonas Valanciunas with powerful age post');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LeBron-James-flexes-dunk-on-Jonas-Valanciunas-with-powerful-age-post.jpg"></figure><h1>Lakers’ LeBron James flexes dunk on Jonas Valanciunas with powerful age post</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-22T18:15:11-08:00">January 22nd, 6:15pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-22T18:15:11-08:00">January 22nd, 6:15pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Tuesday night, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-bronny-james-stunned-reaction-to-lebron-james-savage-poster-vs-wizards">LeBron James gave fans another play</a> to add to his still-growing highlight reel despite having turned 40 years old not even a month ago. The Los Angeles Lakers star, in the second quarter of what would be an eventual 111-88 victory over the Washington Wizards, threw down a mean poster jam over Jonas Valanciunas off of a lob pass from Austin Reaves — which had Bronny James hyped up in the process.</p><p>At this point, there is no surprises anymore when it comes to the athletic feats that James can pull off. But at the same time, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DFI7-p-zJQi/?e=2293c0c9-783a-4994-b3ed-77e75e87a4b2&amp;g=5" rel="noopener">it’s rather unfathomable</a> that he could still defy gravity the way he does even though he’s 22 years into his NBA career — especially when he’s coming off a long travel that saw him make a quick detour all the way to Atlanta to catch his beloved Ohio State Buckeyes win the national championship.</p><p>“Hangover game! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😱. This Is 40👑,” James wrote as the caption on his post on his official Instagram account.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="instagram-media"><div style="padding: 16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DFI7-p-zJQi/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="line-height: 0; padding: 0 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank"> <div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div><div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"><div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"><div></div><div></div><div></div></div></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 24px;"><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div><div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div><p></p></a><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DFI7-p-zJQi/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by 👑 (@kingjames)</a></p></div></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>Just imagining the physical toll of flying all the way to Atlanta and then back to Los Angeles to take on the Wizards is already exhausting, but James is not just any ordinary human. He might be hungover from the time difference and the overall fatigue of the trip he just went through, but it was not apparent whatsoever with the way he made Valanciunas a screensaver.</p><p>James may admit that he is close to hanging it up and that he’s already thinking about what life holds for him when he does retire, but clearly, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/ohio-state-football-news-lebron-james-bryce-harper-love-buckeyes-national-championship-game">Lakers star has plenty of gas left in the tank</a>. And fans better make James’ games appointment viewing, as they better not take his greatness on the hardwood for granted, for we might never see someone as great as him step on the court again.</p><h2><b>Lakers star LeBron James is ageless</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Lakers-superstar-LeBron-James_bb8d62.jpg"><figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>There may be apparent signs of decline when looking at LeBron James’ game under a microscope. His scoring numbers are down, and it’s clear that he cannot jump as high as he once did. But when someone like the Lakers star is starting off from such a high level of athleticism, then that just means that even in his declined state, he can still jump off the building like the best of them.</p><p>Beyond his nasty poster jam on Tuesday night, James also led the way for the Lakers in a resounding victory, tallying 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists in a 23-point win.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lakers’ LeBron James flexes dunk on Jonas Valanciunas with powerful age post

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-jonas-valanciunas-nuggets-other-west-contenders-radars');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Jonas Valanciunas on Nuggets, other West contenders’ radars');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Jonas-Valanciunas-on-Nuggets-other-West-contenders-radars.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Jonas Valanciunas on Nuggets, other West contenders’ radars</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-17T11:35:36-08:00">January 17th, 11:35am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-17T13:58:16-08:00">January 17th, 1:58pm</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor and Washington Wizards/Mystics reporter for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Washington Wizards big man <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-the-maximum-wizards-will-get-in-jonas-valanciunas-trade">Jonas Valanciunas continues to be a hot name on the rumor mill</a> as the Feb. 6 trade deadline approaches. The Denver Nuggets are one of several Western Conference squads who are interested in the Lithuanian international, via ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel.</p><p>“Along with having interest in [Toronto Raptors forward Chris] Boucher, Denver is also interested in Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas, sources said. Many teams around the league have expressed interest in Valanciunas, including the [Golden State] Warriors and [Los Angeles] Lakers,” Siegel reported. “Out of all the teams, the Lakers have been, and continue to be, the veteran center’s top destination. The [Los Angeles] Clippers have also been mentioned by multiple scouts as a possible suitor for Valanciunas in a buy-low spot behind Ivica Zubac.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lakers-still-not-thrilled-jonas-valanciunas-trade">Valanciunas would be a perfect fit</a> for any of those four teams as a backup center. The 32-year-old’s 11.6 points on 56% shooting and 8.1 rebounds per game off the bench for Washington this year show that he’d be useful for a contending squad that needs help at the position.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-4-warriors-frontcourt-trade-targets-emerge">Warriors, though, need Valanciunas</a> the most. Although they’re still trying to win another championship for as long as 36-year-old Steph Curry plays at a high level, they’ve sputtered to a 20-20 start thus far. Furthermore, they don’t have a true center in their regular rotation.</p><p>“Golden State is certainly the most intriguing team connected to Valanciunas due to their clear need for frontcourt help,” Siegel continued. “This is the main area of focus for the Warriors entering the final weeks leading up to the trade deadline, as Valanciunas is on a long list of potential frontcourt targets that includes Nikola Vucevic, Myles Turner, Olynyk, Boucher, Williams, and Collins, sources said. No matter what players the Warriors target, Golden State doesn’t have much desire to trade away first-round assets at this juncture.”</p><p>That last sentence may prevent the Warriors and any other team that doesn’t want to part with valuable draft capital, from landing Valanciunas anytime soon.</p><h2><b>Wizards don’t need to trade Jonas Valanciunas right now</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Wizards-center-Jonas-Valanciunas.jpg"><figcaption>Petre Thomas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Washington is balancing the value of having accomplished veterans to mentor its young players with the benefit of trading said veterans for draft capital. However, Valanciunas’ <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/_/id/8055/jonas-valanciunas" rel="noopener">three-year, $30 million</a> deal runs through 2027, via Spotrac. That not only gives the Wizards plenty of time to find a trade partner, but the former New Orleans Pelican’s $10 million average annual salary is easy to manage financially.</p><p>That’s why Washington will only trade him <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6059442/2025/01/14/jonas-valanciunas-trade-wizards/" rel="noopener">for the right price</a>, via The Athletic’s Josh Robbins and David Aldridge.</p><p>“Washington’s front office would want a draft pick (or picks) that would appreciably move the team’s rebuild forward — not, for instance, late second-round picks,” they reported. “But it will be hard to find a suitor, at least before the usual warm-up to trade talks in the final week or so before the deadline, who’d be willing to go much higher.”</p><p>However, the Wizards may also make an exception depending on the situation.</p><p>“If any incoming contract in a Valanciunas’ deal would not impair the Wizards’ long-term payroll flexibility, then more than one early second-round pick might do the trick,” they continued. “One league source, whose team is not currently involved with the Wizards in discussions about Valanciunas, believes that two second-rounders will wind up being the maximum Washington can get for him.”</p><p>Regardless, Washington isn’t desperate at the moment. While stockpiling valuable picks is good for rebuilding, Valanciunas is also a good player for No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr to learn from. The 19-year-old <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wizards-fans-want-jordan-poole-apology-alex-sarr-apology-forms-after-win-bulls">Sarr won Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month</a> honors in December, so the current situation is working.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Jonas Valanciunas on Nuggets, other West contenders’ radars

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-jonas-valanciunas-knicks-trade-target-mitchell-robinson');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Jonas Valanciunas a Knicks trade target depending on Mitchell Robinson');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/NBA-rumors-Jonas-Valanciunas-a-Knicks-trade-target-depending-on-Mitchell-Robinson.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Jonas Valanciunas a Knicks trade target depending on Mitchell Robinson</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-14T12:36:17-08:00">January 14th, 12:36pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-14T12:42:32-08:00">January 14th, 12:42pm</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor and Washington Wizards/Mystics reporter for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It’s no secret that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/knicks-news-tom-thibodeau-cryptic-response-reported-mitchell-robinson-timeline">Mitchell Robinson (ankle) has struggled with injuries</a> over the last couple of years, as he’s only played in 90 regular season games since the start of the 2022-23 campaign. The New York Knicks <a href="https://twitter.com/sny_knicks/status/1879246549437276302" rel="noopener">expect the seven-footer to be back</a> in February, but there’s a chance that they could run out of patience before then, via SNY’s Ian Begley.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The Knicks hold "solid belief" that Mitchell Robinson will return to the court around early February, says <a href="https://twitter.com/IanBegley?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IanBegley</a></p><p>Jonas Valanciunas is a name to keep an eye on if the Knicks elect to move on from Robinson</p><p>Ian, <a href="https://twitter.com/JLEdwardsIII?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JLEdwardsIII</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/SirDennyBlanco?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SirDennyBlanco</a> on The Putback with Ian… <a href="https://t.co/iz6z9T2vIN">pic.twitter.com/iz6z9T2vIN</a></p><p>— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/sny_knicks/status/1879246549437276302?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“I do believe that there is a solid belief that he will be back, and they will have him back on the floor by early February. I do think that’s a real thing,” Begley said. “Now, do you wait that long, or do you move on and try to pick up somebody else? I do think Jonas Valanciunas will be somebody that’s on their radar if they do decide to move on from Mitch Robinson and decide that they need somebody else in there.”</p><h2><b>Is Jonas Valanciunas a worthy target for Knicks?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Jonas-Valanciunas-17-reacts-to-his-three-pointer-against-the-Philadelphia-76ers.jpg"><figcaption>© Bill Streicher-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Valanciunas would provide immediate value as a backup to Karl Anthony-Towns. The 32-year-old is averaging 11.6 points on 55.8% shooting with 8.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists across 19.8 minutes per game <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-the-maximum-wizards-will-get-in-jonas-valanciunas-trade">for the Washington Wizards this season</a>. However, the more cost-effective scenario would be Robinson coming back at full strength.</p><p>“I really think in a perfect world that Mitch comes back, he’s healthy, he shows he can play, and they move forward there,” Begley continued. “I think we kind of forget how good he is offensive rebounding, defending the rim, and how high-level he was playing at before he got hurt last year. A few injuries, the first one and then the [Joel] Embiid takedown. Best scenario for them is that happens, and everything I heard was that he was making linear progress on that rehab and that nobody had expected him to not be back at some point.”</p><p>Indeed, Robinson’s skillset is the perfect fit for a Knicks team that has no other established center behind Towns, and they don’t have to give up any assets to take a chance on his injury luck. The 2018 No. 36 overall pick had 4.6 offensive rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and 1.2 steals per game last season.</p><p>While Valanciunas is healthy, the Wizards <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6059442/2025/01/14/jonas-valanciunas-trade-wizards/" rel="noopener">want valuable draft capital</a> for him, via The Athletic’s Josh Robbins and David Aldridge.</p><p>“Washington’s front office would want a draft pick (or picks) that would appreciably move the team’s rebuild forward — not, for instance, late second-round picks,” they wrote. “But it will be hard to find a suitor, at least before the usual warm-up to trade talks in the final week or so before the deadline, who’d be willing to go much higher.”</p><p>It makes sense for New York to cough up first-round picks for Valanciunas if, and only if, Robinson suffers a setback in his rehab.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Jonas Valanciunas a Knicks trade target depending on Mitchell Robinson

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-the-maximum-wizards-will-get-in-jonas-valanciunas-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: The ‘maximum’ Wizards will get in Jonas Valanciunas trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/The-maximum-Wizards-will-get-in-Jonas-Valanciunas-trade-1.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>NBA rumors: The ‘maximum’ Wizards will get in Jonas Valanciunas trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-14T09:03:30-08:00">January 14th, 9:03am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-14T09:03:30-08:00">January 14th, 9:03am</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lakers-still-not-thrilled-jonas-valanciunas-trade">Washington Wizards may face limited returns</a> in their efforts to trade veteran center Jonas Valanciunas, according to a report by The Athletic. Analysts Josh Robbins and David Aldridge suggest that the Wizards are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6059442/2025/01/14/jonas-valanciunas-trade-wizards/" rel="noopener">unlikely to secure significant</a> draft capital in exchange for the 32-year-old big man ahead of the February 6 NBA trade deadline.</p><p>Valanciunas, currently in his 13th NBA season, is under a three-year contract worth $30.2 million, with $9.9 million owed for the 2024-25 season. His production this season includes averages of 11.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game, while shooting an efficient 55.8% from the field. However, his three-point shooting has regressed to 21.7%, a notable drop from previous seasons.</p><h2><b>Wizards face uphill battle in maximizing trade value for Jonas Valanciunas</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Jonas-Valanciunas-17-reacts-to-his-three-pointer-against-the-Philadelphia-76ers.jpg"><figcaption>© Bill Streicher-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Wizards, holding the NBA’s worst record at 6-32, are firmly in a rebuilding phase and are open to moving Valanciunas if the right deal arises. The team is prioritizing assets that would advance their long-term goals, such as early draft picks. However, league sources believe the market for the veteran center may be limited, with contending teams likely to be the primary suitors. These teams are expected to be cautious about giving up rotational depth or high-value draft picks.</p><p>“If any incoming contract in a Valanciunas’ deal would not impair the Wizards’ long-term payroll flexibility, then more than one early second-round pick might do the trick,” The Athletic reported. “One league source, whose team is not currently involved with the Wizards in discussions about Valanciunas, believes that two second-rounders will wind up being the maximum Washington can get for him.”</p><p>This potential return underscores the challenges <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/5-non-jimmy-butler-warriors-trade-scenarios">Washington faces in leveraging Valanciunas’ value in the current market</a>. Teams targeting the center would likely view him as a depth piece to bolster playoff rotations, rather than a cornerstone acquisition warranting significant trade assets.</p><p>With their league-worst record, the Wizards are focused on accumulating assets to strengthen their rebuilding efforts. However, finding a trade partner willing to offer more than second-round picks may prove difficult. As the February 6 deadline approaches, the Wizards will need to weigh their options carefully to maximize their returns for Valanciunas.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: The ‘maximum’ Wizards will get in Jonas Valanciunas trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-lakers-still-not-thrilled-jonas-valanciunas-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Lakers still not ‘thrilled’ about Jonas Valanciunas trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/NBA-rumors-Lakers-still-not-thrilled-about-Jonas-Valanciunas-trade.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Lakers still not ‘thrilled’ about Jonas Valanciunas trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-07T10:18:12-08:00">January 7th, 10:18am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-07T10:18:12-08:00">January 7th, 10:18am</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University while covering events like the 2023 NCAA Men's Final Four, the 2024 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and the Arizona State men's swim and dive team. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Lakers are one foot in, one foot out for a trade involving Washington Wizards center, Jonas Valanciunas. After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-why-lakers-havent-made-jonas-valanciunas-trade-yet">Valanciunas being involved in a potential Lakers trade</a> for weeks, the franchise might be pulling the plug on any move. The Wizards are continually asking for draft capital, and Los Angeles isn’t budging.</p><p>ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel explained what a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sources-how-jarred-vanderbilt-impending-return-lakers-trade-strategy">Lakers and Valanciunas potential trade</a> looks like. “League sources say the Washington Wizards have somewhat relented on their price for Jonas Valanciunas, but the Lakers still aren’t thrilled with the idea of using their remaining second-round picks on him and the remaining years left on his contract,” Siegel said.</p><p>Los Angeles has been looking for a center to pair next to Anthony Davis and LeBron James for quite a while. Although Valanciunas isn’t in his prime anymore, he is still a quality player. He can rebound at an elite level and has improved his face-up game. That alone can do wonders for the two Lakers stars.</p><h2><b>Will a Jonas Valanciunas trade happen for the Lakers?</b></h2><p>At this point, it’s looking more and more unlikely. After all, they did trade D’Angelo Russell for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton about two weeks ago. They’ve been making moves but don’t want to wait. Complacency will be the end of their season, especially with James and Davis continuing to age.</p><p>Still, the Lakers have quality centers they can use. Most notably, Davis has played plenty of minutes at center this season. While head coach JJ Redick wants to get him back to his normal position, Davis at the center spot does wonders for both sides. Furthermore, Jarred Vanderbilt is ready to make his return. That’s <a href="https://lakersnation.com/lakers-injury-update-jarred-vanderbilt-making-real-progress-for-return-to-play/" rel="noopener">another defensive-minded player</a> who can rebound and guard nearly every position.</p><p>The rebounding will always be there for Valanciunas. Furthermore, Washington is asking for second-round picks. They carry some weight, but not that of a first-round pick or other players. Still, the Lakers are reluctant to include multiple second-round picks for the Lithuanian center.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/lakers/news/lakers-trade-for-dorian-finney-smith-reportedly-created-drama-between-nets-and-west-rival-01jgvzqfc64h#:~:text=The%20Los%20Angeles%20Lakers%20made,of%20their%20last%20nine%20games." rel="noopener">moves for Finney-Smith and Milton</a> might’ve been what they were going to offer for Valanciunas. No matter what, Los Angeles is in a nice position themselves. They are fifth in the Western Conference and have been in that position consistently throughout the season.</p><p>A hypothetical for Valanciunas will ponder in Lakers fans’ minds. Sometimes though, sticking with what you have is the best option, and that might be the case for Los Angeles.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Lakers still not ‘thrilled’ about Jonas Valanciunas trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-why-lakers-havent-made-jonas-valanciunas-trade-yet');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Why Lakers haven’t made Jonas Valanciunas trade yet');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Why-Lakers-havent-made-Jonas-Valanciunas-trade-yet.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Why Lakers haven’t made Jonas Valanciunas trade yet</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-31T06:52:21-08:00">December 31st, 6:52am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-31T11:52:06-08:00">December 31st, 11:52am</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University while covering events like the 2023 NCAA Men's Final Four, the 2024 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and the Arizona State men's swim and dive team. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Jonas Valanciunas to the Los Angeles Lakers seems to be a growing rumor, but it hasn’t picked up much steam lately. Although the Washington Wizards are happy to trade the Lithuanian big man, they want the right compensation. ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel stated this about the likelihood of a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sources-lakers-next-trade-plans-dangelo-russell-dorian-finney-smith-deal">Lakers and Valanciunas trade</a>.</p><p>“The Wizards have pushed for more draft capital than the Lakers have been interested in giving up and also pursued Russell’s expiring contract.”</p><p>After the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-dangelo-russell-trade-nets-4-player-trade">Lakers traded away D’Angelo Russell</a> to the Brooklyn Nets, this might be a done deal. However, the franchise can still use a center like Valanciunas. His rebounding, physicality, and increased scoring can take pressure off of Anthony Davis. Plus, it allows Davis to focus solely on the defensive side, where he’s been dominant.</p><p>However, they might not be interested in a non-versatile center. The scoring might be nice, but his lack of lateral movement and rim protection is quite glaring. Davis is a fantastic defender, but it’s unrealistic to be the only one to defend the interior at a high level. Luckily for the Lakers, there are other routes they could go if Valanciunas is a no-go.</p><h2><b>Who could the Lakers trade for if they don’t want Jonas Valanciunas?</b></h2><p>The search isn’t limited to only Valanciunas. As Siegel reported, “Lakers sources say they’ve held internal conversations about Robert Williams of the Portland Trail Blazers, Nick Richards of the Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn’s Day’Ron Sharpe, and Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz.”</p><p>One of the similar comparisons with these centers is that they’re younger and defensively-minded. Although they’re not as offensively sound, their defensive prowess makes up for the offensive shortcomings. For instance, someone like Kessler is a true rim protector and is averaging <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kesslwa01.html" rel="noopener">2.8 blocks in under 30 minutes per game</a>. The last time the Lakers had two rim-protecting centers was the 2020 and 2021 seasons. They won the 2020 NBA championship.</p><p>While there’s more to it than the two big-man lineup, it certainly helped them defensively. It may not be Kessler, Richards, Williams, or Sharpe when it’s all said and done. They could still roll with Valanciunas as their answer. However, giving up multiple draft picks may not be on the radar.</p><p>After all, the other respective teams will likely <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10148923-nba-trade-rumors-latest-on-jonas-valanciunas-malcolm-brogdon-jordan-clarkson-more" rel="noopener">demand a barrage of draft picks</a> if those players are dealt. Russell was dealt in likely the first of many moves. Plus, LeBron James teased a retirement with the Lakers, and it’s likely to happen sooner rather than later. Doing anything to win a championship might be the main objective this season, and that includes trading for a center.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Why Lakers haven’t made Jonas Valanciunas trade yet

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-lakers-jonas-valanciunas-backup-trade-options');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Lakers’ Jonas Valanciunas backup trade options');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/NBA-rumors-Lakers-Jonas-Valanciunas-backup-trade-options.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Lakers’ Jonas Valanciunas backup trade options</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-20T06:32:28-08:00">December 20th, 6:32am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-20T06:32:28-08:00">December 20th, 6:32am</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Lakers are <a href="https://marcstein.substack.com/p/jake-fischer-latest-man-in-demand" rel="noopener">reportedly exploring</a> several backup trade options as they <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lakers-3-clear-needs-ahead-of-trade-deadline">continue to pursue a deal for Jonas Valanciunas</a>, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. Valanciunas, currently under a three-year, $30 million contract, has been linked to a potential trade with the Washington Wizards. The 32-year-old center is averaging 12 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game this season while shooting 55.8% from the field.</p><p>In the event a deal for Valanciunas does not materialize, Fischer reports that the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lakers-wont-be-trade-mix-jimmy-butler-2-other-stars">Lakers remain interested in Portland Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III</a>. Williams, in the third year of a four-year, $48 million contract, is averaging 9.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting an impressive 73.8% from the field. Despite his ongoing injury concerns, Williams’ defensive versatility and pick-and-roll potential have made him a key piece for Portland, and the team is reportedly hesitant to trade him.</p><p>Another <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lakers-linked-walker-kessler-trade">target for the Lakers is Utah Jazz big man Walker Kessler</a>, who is posting averages of 11.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 72.8% from the field. Kessler is in the third year of his rookie-scale contract, making him a cost-effective option at $2.9 million this season and $4.8 million next season. It remains unclear whether the Jazz are open to moving him.</p><h2><b>Lakers could explore multiple backup options to address frontcourt needs</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Anthony-Davis-3-reacts-in-the-first-half-against-the-Memphis-Grizzlies.jpg"><figcaption>© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Fischer also identified several additional names the Lakers could consider if other options fall through. Among them are Toronto Raptors forward Chris Boucher, Brooklyn Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe, Charlotte Hornets center Nick Richards, and New Orleans Pelicans center Daniel Theis. Each player brings different strengths and contract situations that could align with the Lakers’ needs for added depth.</p><p>Separately, Fischer noted that the Sacramento Kings have made Trey Lyles and Kevin Huerter available for trade, though there has been no indication of specific Lakers interest in those players.</p><p>The Lakers are currently 14-12 on the season and preparing for a key matchup against the Sacramento Kings, who hold a 13-14 record. As the team seeks to strengthen its roster, addressing size and depth remains a priority in maintaining their competitiveness in the Western Conference.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Lakers’ Jonas Valanciunas backup trade options

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-lakers-ready-trade-for-jonas-valanciunas-asap');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Lakers ready to trade for Jonas Valanciunas ASAP');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/NBA-rumors-Lakers-ready-to-trade-for-Jonas-Valanciunas-ASAP.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Lakers ready to trade for Jonas Valanciunas ASAP</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-13T06:52:14-08:00">December 13th, 6:52am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-13T06:52:14-08:00">December 13th, 6:52am</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-lakers-potential-jonas-valanciunas-trade-offer-comes-light">Lakers have been mentioned in trade rumors</a> since the beginning of the season, and they’ve stayed consistent with the same name. Jonas Valanciunas is a target that the Lakers have been looking at since free agency, but he ultimately signed with the Washington Wizards.</p><p>With the Lakers needing help in the frontcourt and the Wizards looking to go to a youth movement, it only makes sense that Valanciunas could be traded, and it seems like LA is trying to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/charting-out-lakers-most-realistic-productive-path-trade-season" rel="noopener">do it as soon as possible</a>, according to Anthony Irwin of ClutchPoints.</p><p>“According to those I’ve spoken to with knowledge of the situation, Washington and L.A. have already held preliminary talks about a Valanciunas deal, and the expectation is for those talks to ramp up once he can be traded,” Irwin said. The expectation is for the Lakers to offer Vincent and second-round pick compensation to the Wizards. They may also attach one of their veteran minimum contracts (Christian Wood, Cam Reddish, or Jaxson Hayes) in the deal to give themselves more room under the second apron and to open a roster spot.</p><p>“If multiple second-round picks seem expensive for Valanciunas, given the role he’d play and his three-year contract, consider it the price of getting Washington to make this move now rather than wait to see if some team gets even more desperate later in the year. The Lakers can wait to see if that price drops.”</p><p>The Lakers don’t have that many valuable players, but if they’re able to get Valanciunas for just Gabe Vincent, that’s a good deal for them.</p><h2>Jonas Valanciunas can improve Lakers’ frontcourt</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jonas-Valanciunas_4b7de1.jpg"><figcaption>Geoff Burke-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Lakers have had trouble with their frontcourt this season outside of Anthony Davis. Christian Wood and Jared Vanderbilt have still not played a minute, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-jaxson-hayes-worrisome-injury-update-jj-redick">Jaxson Hayes was recently injured</a>. That leaves Christian Koloko, who hasn’t seen many minutes on the floor and isn’t that effective.</p><p>Jonas Valanciunas can help the Lakers in multiple ways, and he can be the center they need to move Davis to the four, where he can be more effective than he is now. Not only is Valanciunas a big body that can get physical in the paint, but he can stretch the floor and shoot from the perimeter if needed.</p><p>That’s definitely something the Lakers are looking for, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they made the trade as soon as they can.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Lakers ready to trade for Jonas Valanciunas ASAP

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba-rumors-lakers-potential-jonas-valanciunas-trade-offer-comes-light');   ga('set', 'title', 'NBA rumors: Lakers’ potential Jonas Valanciunas trade offer comes to light');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Lakers-potential-Jonas-Valanciunas-trade-offer-comes-to-light.jpg"></figure><h1>NBA rumors: Lakers’ potential Jonas Valanciunas trade offer comes to light</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-02T08:14:22-08:00">December 2nd, 8:14am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-03T12:48:56-08:00">December 3rd, 12:48pm</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-trade-paul-george-76ers-blow-it-up">Lakers continue to be in trade rumors</a> as the season progresses, and all the signs point to them being interested in improving their frontcourt. There have been several players linked to the Lakers, but the one that has stayed the most consistent is Jonas Valanciunas. With the Lakers having players such as Gabe Vincent, who could be used as trade bait, there’s a possibility he <a href="https://hoopshype.com/lists/top-nba-trade-candidates-for-the-2024-25-season/" rel="noopener">can be used in a trade</a> to get the Washington Wizards center, according to HoopsHype.</p><p>“Keep an eye on Los Angeles potentially dangling Vincent and future second-round picks to try and land Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas, a coveted Lakers target,” HoopsHype reported.</p><p>Valanciunas has been a solid reserve player for the Wizards this season, and he’s been able to mentor Alex Sarr in his first year in the league. On the court, Valanciunas is put in the game to handle bigger matchups for the Wizards, and his inside-out game opens up the floor for the team.</p><p>At the same time, Valanciunas is at the point of his career where he can help a contender, and that’s why the Lakers have been linked to him ever since free agency when they tried to sign him. If Vincent and some second-round picks can get him, the Lakers shouldn’t hesitate.</p><h2>Lakers looking to upgrade frontcourt depth</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Jonas-Valanciunas.jpg"><figcaption>Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-jaxson-hayes-brutal-injury-blow">Lakers have been dealing with injuries</a> to their center position all season, and with Jaxson Hayes supposed to be out for the next few weeks, they’re going to need to find some help. Anthony Davis has been holding down the fort and has been playing some of the best basketball in the league, but he can’t do it all by himself. Christian Koloko is the only available and healthy center right now, but he doesn’t get many minutes as is.</p><p>Christian Wood has not stepped on the floor this season as he’s still recovering from an injury, and Jared Vanderbilt hasn’t played either. Despite the injuries, the Lakers are still 12-8 and currently sixth in the Western Conference. Davis playing at a high level and LeBron James continuing to dominate in multiple ways has helped the Lakers stay afloat this season.</p><p>Another player who has played well is rookie Dalton Knecht, and he’s made his way into the starting lineup for the Lakers due to his ability to shoot the ball. If the Lakers could add another frontcourt piece to the team, they should be in good shape as the season continues.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

NBA rumors: Lakers’ potential Jonas Valanciunas trade offer comes to light

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/wizards-news-alex-sarr-defense-draws-jonas-valanciunas-best-league-admission');   ga('set', 'title', 'Wizards rookie Alex Sarr’s defense draws Jonas Valanciunas ‘best in the league’ admission');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Wizards-news-Alex-Sarrs-defense-draws-Jonas-Valanciunas-best-in-the-league-admission.jpg"></figure><h1>Wizards rookie Alex Sarr’s defense draws Jonas Valanciunas ‘best in the league’ admission</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-26T14:22:59-07:00">October 26th, 2:22pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-26T14:22:59-07:00">October 26th, 2:22pm</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor and Washington Wizards/Mystics reporter for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Washington <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wizards-news-jordan-poole-cant-stand-alex-sarr-slander">Wizards No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr</a> didn’t stuff the stat sheet in Thursday night’s 122-102 loss to the Boston Celtics, but he showed flashes of the exciting potential that made him a top prospect. Veteran big man <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/wizards-news-jonas-valanciunas-drops-alex-sarr-truth-bomb-stopping-celtics">Jonas Valanciunas already thinks</a> that the French international is one of the league’s best rim protectors.</p><p>Valanciunas said that Sarr <a href="https://twitter.com/joshvaldez100/status/1849875741917302865?s=46" rel="noopener">knows how to</a> “read the game.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">I asked Jonas Valanciunas what he thought of Alex Sarr’s defensive performance against the Celtics. He said Sarr’s shot blocking ability is “one of the best in the league.” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wizards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#wizards</a> <a href="https://t.co/6aJMjDFPoE">pic.twitter.com/6aJMjDFPoE</a></p><p>— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) <a href="https://twitter.com/joshvaldez100/status/1849875741917302865?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“His shot-blocking ability is one of the best in the league. He’s still a young player, still growing, still learning, you know, in the gym all the time,” the 32-year-old said. “You know, shot-blocking is about reading the game, you know, about the sense. He’s got that, and he’s going up from there.”</p><p>Sarr had two blocks and four defensive rebounds across 22 minutes against the defending champion Celtics, while also guarding Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the perimeter. The 19-year-old’s next test comes against Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Evan Mobley on Saturday night, a big man who can handle the ball and score on all three levels.</p><p>However, Valanciunas will be there to help when needed. Washington’s pair of a promising rookie and a grizzled veteran at the four and five spots balances fresh legs with experience and high basketball IQ, something that’ll benefit both Sarr’s development and the team’s defense as a whole.</p><p>Valanciunas hit the ground running on Thursday, scoring 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting with five rebounds and two assists across 20 minutes off the bench. Washington went with a small starting lineup, using three guards with Kyle Kuzma at power forward and Sarr at center. However, with the Cavaliers’ big-man duo of Mobley and Jarrett Allen, expect Valanciunas to get more minutes.</p><h2><b>Jonas Valanciunas is a vital piece for Wizards</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Karl-Anthony-Town-goes-for-a-dunk.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Valanciunas is not only a valuable rim protector, but his screen-setting on offense helps generate open looks for his teammates. The 6-foot-11, 265-pounder is essentially a brick wall for whoever he’s screening for.</p><p>Second-year shooting guard Bilal Coulibaly loves having Valanciunas<a href="https://x.com/bijan_todd/status/1849130931489038587?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1849130931489038587%7Ctwgr%5Ed88eee469a1e8b0e797d13de04f16dad9cd7a604%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.clutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D3093022action%3Dedit" rel="noopener"> at his disposal,</a> via Monumental Sports Network’s Bijan Todd.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Bilal Coulibaly LOVES playing with Jonas Valanciunas.</p><p>“He’s a force. Whenever he sets a screen for me, I feel like I’m wide open right after.” <a href="https://t.co/GpQbfEtLHq">pic.twitter.com/GpQbfEtLHq</a></p><p>— Bijan Todd (@bijan_todd) <a href="https://twitter.com/bijan_todd/status/1849130931489038587?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“Oh, he’s a force, like whenever he sets a screen for me, I feel like I’m wide-open right after,” the French international said. “Whenever he sets a screen to me, I’m like damn, I can’t get over it. So yeah, he’s a force…”</p><p>Coulibaly is one of several young Wizards still finding his way in the NBA, so having a big man like Valanciunas to help him get open is an invaluable asset. The 20-year-old struggled to find open looks against Boston, scoring just eight points on 1-for-2 shooting across 30 minutes, although he did have six rebounds and six assists.</p><p>However, Valanciunas’ role isn’t all about helping his teammates develop. The Lithuanian international must also produce individually for Washington to find success, especially against tough matchups like Allen on Saturday night. The 6-foot-9, 243-pounder already has five blocks through just two games and is one of the NBA’s best rim protectors.</p><p>Valanciunas, though, is a good bet to be an efficient shooter around the rim and a dependable rebounder. The 2011 fifth-overall pick averaged 12.2 points on 55.9% shooting with 8.8 rebounds across 23.5 minutes per game for the New Orleans Pelicans last season. Having such a high-percentage shooter provides a good safety net for a Wizards offense which often has peaks and valleys.</p><p>Valanciunas may not be around for the end of Washington’s rebuild, but there’s no question that he’s one of its most important helping hands at the moment.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Wizards rookie Alex Sarr’s defense draws Jonas Valanciunas ‘best in the league’ admission

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/wizards-news-jonas-valanciunas-drops-alex-sarr-truth-bomb-stopping-celtics');   ga('set', 'title', 'Wizards’ Jonas Valanciunas drops Alex Sarr truth bomb on stopping Celtics');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Jonas-Valanciunas-drops-Alex-Sarr-truth-bomb-on-stopping-Celtics.jpg"></figure><h1>Wizards’ Jonas Valanciunas drops Alex Sarr truth bomb on stopping Celtics</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-23T17:03:38-07:00">October 23rd, 5:03pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-23T17:59:18-07:00">October 23rd, 5:59pm</time><address><a>Joshua Valdez</a>Joshua Valdez started his journalism career as the Sports Editor for the Rutgers University newspaper before becoming an associate editor and Washington Wizards/Mystics reporter for ClutchPoints. He is a diehard Yankees, Jets, Knicks, Rutgers, and Tottenham Hotspur fan. When Joshua is not either watching a game or writing about one, you can find him in an art-house movie theater or working on a screenplay.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Washington Wizards host the Boston Celtics to open their regular season slate in one of their hardest tests of the year on Thursday night. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-broadcast-trolls-lakers-mickey-mouse-title">defending-champion Celtics</a> are coming off of a nearly record-setting shooting performance against the New York Knicks, but Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas thinks that he and Alex Sarr can slow them down.</p><p>Valanciunas <a href="https://twitter.com/joshvaldez100/status/1849159582989406656?s=46" rel="noopener">explained why he’s confident</a> at Wednesday’s practice.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jonas Valanciunas on him and Alex Sarr matching up against the Celtics defensively:</p><p>“Alex is a really athletic guy, he can block shots…I’m bringing physicality, controlling the paint…I don’t like to talk before the fact, we gotta do it first, right?”<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wizards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#wizards</a> <a href="https://t.co/Hxs3U82owx">pic.twitter.com/Hxs3U82owx</a></p><p>— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) <a href="https://twitter.com/joshvaldez100/status/1849159582989406656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“You know, Alex is a really athletic guy. He can block shots, he can add a lot with his length,” Valanciunas said. “Steals, being in passing lanes, long arms poking at the ball. Defensively, he’s perfect. I’m bringing physicality, controlling the paint. We’ll see. I don’t like to talk before the fact, we gotta do it first, right?”</p><p>While Valanciunas is going into his 14th season, Sarr will make his NBA debut. The No. 2 overall pick from this past summer won’t have it easy, as he’ll likely guard five-time All-Star Jayson Tatum at the power forward spot. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/celtics-news-jayson-tatum-goes-viral-amid-hot-start-vs-knicks">Tatum was unconscious against the Knicks</a>, scoring 37 points on 14-of-18 shooting, including 8-of-11 from deep, with 10 assists and four rebounds. Boston made 29 three-pointers as a team, tying the NBA single-game record.</p><p>Valanciunas, though, <a href="https://x.com/joshvaldez100/status/1849146825770410267?s=46" rel="noopener">kept things in perspective</a> for Washington’s rookies.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Jonas Valanciunas on advice for the Wizards’ rookies making their NBA debuts tomorrow night against the defending-champion Celtics </p><p>“It’s a beautiful day to play”<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/wizards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#wizards</a> <a href="https://t.co/6C9Mi9BkMc">pic.twitter.com/6C9Mi9BkMc</a></p><p>— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) <a href="https://twitter.com/joshvaldez100/status/1849146825770410267?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 23, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“It’s a beautiful day to play. It’s a really good team coming in, defending champions. Can’t ask for anything better,” Valanciunas said.</p><p>Valanciunas’ celebratory mindset is appropriate here. Sarr, as well as fellow rookies Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George, have worked their entire lives for this moment, and this game will be an unforgettable moment in their lives.</p><p>Pre-game nerves are understandable, but Sarr and company can ill-afford to be sheepish on the floor against a team of the Celtics’ caliber. Will Washington’s young group hold its own?</p><h2><b>Celtics present major test for Alex Sarr, Wizards</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/07-18-24-sarr-french-image.jpeg"><figcaption>© Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>One major factor that will help Washington is the absence of Boston center Kristaps Porzingis, who’s out with a foot injury. The 7-foot-2, 240-pounder averaged 20.1 points on 51.6% shooting with 7.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game last year and would’ve made life more difficult for the Wizards on both ends. Instead, Valanciunas will match up with Al Horford, who normally comes off the bench at this stage of his career.</p><p>While Valanciunas is mobile enough to defend the perimeter, expect him to stay down low more often than not in case Tatum drives past Sarr on the outside. The seven-foot, 205-pound Sarr has the talent and physical attributes to keep up with the Celtics’ star, but Tatum’s experience and craftiness will be tough for the rookie to handle consistently. As a result, Horford may get open looks from deep, which Washington must live with.</p><p>If Sarr does a credible job defensively, though, it’ll be a great first step for him. The French international was brought in primarily for his defense, and having a respectable outing against the class of the league right off the bat is nothing to take lightly.</p><p>However, basketball is a team sport, and Valanciunas’ presence will be vital to Sarr’s development. This game will be the first of many in which two big men at opposite points in their respective careers will partner up both in the paint and on the perimeter, protecting the rim and contesting shots as much as possible. Even if Thursday’s game doesn’t go as the two would like, it’s only the first episode of a long series.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
6.6	4.9	1.1	0.6	0.4

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
6.6	4.9	1.1	0.6	0.4

Jonas Valančiūnas news

Jonas
Valančiūnas news