Lakers ‘Brilliant’ Trade Proposal Lands Coveted $30 Million Star

There were more than a few eyebrows raised this week when ESPN veteran NBA reporter Brian Windhorst reported, cryptically (as he so often does), that big man Jonas Valanciunas could still wind up with the Lakers in due time, though the team was not able to sign him in free agency early this month.

“I wouldn’t rule out Jonas Valanciunas eventually ending up on the Lakers this year. That’s all I’m going to say,” Windhorst said on “The Hoops Collective” podcast, via Lakers Nation.

Obviously, there is more to say about the subject, though—mostly about why Valanciunas signed with the Wizards for a three-year, $30.3 million contract with the first two years guaranteed. Washington was a bad team last year, with just 15 wins, and is not expected to be much better this year. Moreover, the team drafted center Alexandre Sarr with the No. 2 overall pick and presumably wants to play him.

But the Wizards’ intention with Valanciunas should always have been obvious: They signed him to trade him and collect an asset or two in the coming months. It’s a frequent practice in baseball, and perhaps will be seen more in the NBA, too.

“It was a brilliant deal for the Wizards and it was a brilliant deal for him and his agents, too,” one NBA executive said. “And it could be a brilliant trade for someone. The Wizards don’t need him and don’t want him, they do not want to win games next year—they want the No. 1 pick. So, probably early January, you are going to see them shopping him, seeing if they can get a first-round pick, and as long as he stays healthy, they should be able to.”

Jonas Valanciunas Would be Coveted as a Trade Asset

That could be problematic for a  Lakers trade, who would have to agree to give up one of their two remaining tradeable picks to get Valanciunas, either in 2029 or 2031. They want to hold onto those. The hope was that they could sign Valanciunas in free agency using the midlevel exception, but they would have needed help to have that available.

The help: D’Angelo Russell would have had to have opted out of the final year and $18.7 million of his contract. It could have helped, too, if the three minimum players who opted in—Jaxson Hayes, Cam Reddish and Christian Wood—had decided not to come back, too. That would have given the Lakers plenty of room to use their full midlevel and sign Valanciunas.

There was also the possibility of LeBron James cutting into his contract to have enough space to Valanciunas. But Valanciunas was right not to wait around on that decision. He’ll get moved in six months anyway. Maybe sooner.

“You’re going to get the Lakers interested again, they are probably in better shape to get him because they can make it work through a trade,” the exec said. “But they’d have to give up a pick because there will be a market. The Knicks, we’ll see how their center spot develops. The Warriors, if the (Lauri) Markkanen thing does not work out. Milwaukee, we will see what happens with Brook (Lopez).”

Valanciunas had solid numbers (12.2 points and 8.8 rebounds) last season in New Orleans.

Lakers Trade Would Need to Include 2029 or 2031 1st-Round Pick

If there is competition, then, the Lakers could have to ship out, say, the 2029 pick and a matching contract to make a deal work. Gabe Vincent would be an obvious choice, but there is hope that he will bounce back after an injury-marred 2023-24 season, and be productive. Still, fi the Lakers need a big man, they could have to ship out either him or Jarred Vanderbilt, with the pick.

Ideally, the Lakers would send out multiple contracts worth more than Valanciunas’s incoming $9.9 million and create some wiggle room under the luxury tax’s second apron. A final deal of Vincent and Wood with the 2029 pick would do that.

If it works out that way for the Wizards, it is the kind of deal we could well see again.

“Tt is a really smart deal for (Valanciunas) because it got him paid at a time when there were just not that many spots available—it’s musical chairs and if you do not get one of the first slots now with the new rules, you’re screwed,” the exec said. “There’s not as much flexibility. But this gets you paid, and the team paying you can say, ‘Hey, we’ll get you to a contender when the time comes.’

“You see it in baseball all the time, a guy who signs with a bad team just to be traded later, and you’re going to see more of it in our game.”