Anthony Davis continued his dominant form, but the Los Angeles Lakers continue to get bad news on the trade front in their search for a center to grant their star’s wish.
NBA insider Marc Stein reported on Monday, Jan. 27, that there is no momentum toward such a trade, with the Feb. 6 trade deadline just more than a week away.
“Washington’s Jonas Valančiūnas is another off-mentioned Lakers trade target and would appear to be the most gettable proven big man for L.A. to pursue given all the parameters it has been weighing, but substantial momentum on a Valančiūnas-to-Lakerland deal has yet to manifest,” Stein wrote in his “The Stein Line newsletter on Substack.
Jovan Buha of The Athletic pointed out the challenge the Lakers are facing in the trade market after giving up three second-round picks to land Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton from the Brooklyn Nets.
“My sense lately, that I’ve been hearing, has been trending more toward them making a smaller move and probably using second-round draft capital and the issue there is that their second-round draft capital isn’t really worth that much because it’s their pick and the Clippers’ pick and both of those picks are projected right now to be between like 45 and 52 depending on where those two teams finish in the standings so those aren’t the sexiest second-round picks,” Buha said on his podcast “Buha’s Block” following the Lakers’ 102-101 win over the Nets on Jan. 17. “You typically want a first half of the second round-type pick.”
Anthony Davis Continues to Dominate as Center
For the first time since he became a Laker, the mild-mannered Davis made public his wish to play next to a center.
“I think we need another big,” Davis told ESPN’s Shams Charania before the Lakers trounced the weary defending champions Boston Celtics 117-96 on Jan. 23. “I feel like I’ve always been at my best when I’ve been the 4, having a big out there. We know it worked when we won a championship with JaVale [McGee] and Dwight [Howard] at the 5 and I’m at the 4.”
Davis enjoyed his best season with the Lakers during that championship run, finishing sixth in the MVP voting and second in the Defensive Player of the Year race. McGee was the Lakers’ starting center in 68 games during the regular season and 11 games in the playoffs.
Davis has produced back-to-back monster games since his wish to play next to a center went public.
The Lakers star was dominant with a 20-40 game (42 points, 23 rebounds, two assists and two blocks) in their 112-107 win over the Charlotte Hornets to open their six-game East Coast trip on Monday, Jan. 27. Before that, he had 36 points and 13 rebounds with three assists, three steals and one block in their 118-108 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 25.
Jonas Valančiūnas Fits JJ Redick’s Type
Valančiūnas isn’t a rim-runner and a lob threat like McGee or Howard. The 6-foot-11 Lithuanian center is more of the bruiser and enforcer-type of a big man, which is exactly what Lakers rookie head coach JJ Redick wanted to ease Davis’ defensive burden and preserve his energy on offense.
“You certainly have to look at what I think is actually a very good roster, a very balanced roster,” Redick told Sirius XM NBA Radio during the NBA Summer League in July. “We’d love to, we tried, but we’d love to, at some point, get another five man, a big bruising five man.
“You look at the Western Conference right now, whether it’s Denver, Minnesota, OKC with what they added, certainly Memphis, they’re going to be back in the hunt, they added Zach Edey, certain matchups in the playoffs, you’re going to need a lot of size.”
The Lakers wanted Valančiūnas in the offseason. He was on LeBron James‘ shortlist of then-free agents he was willing to take a paycut for. But he wasn’t on top of their list with Klay Thompson and James Harden ahead of him. So, Valančiūnas went for the guaranteed money the Wizards offered and agreed to a three-year, $30 million deal on the first day of free agency.
Valančiūnas is averaging 11.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists in just 19.6 minutes for the Wizards, who are prioritizing playing their young players.
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Lakers Take Big Hit Amid Anthony Davis’ Dominant Stretch Since Trade Wish Became Public