Lakers Likely to ‘Revisit’ Move to Acquire 2024 Free Agent Target

Alex Kirschenbaum | Sep 4, 2024

Jul 2, 2024; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka at a press conference at the UCLA Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers may have whiffed on, well, everybody in free agency, outside of opting to retain incumbents LeBron James and Max Christie. But it sounds like the search for at least one top big man on the market may not have truly ended this summer.

Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka could at some point look to bring on more major frontcourt defensive help, to hear one expert tell it.

Former New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas, a solid rebounder and defender who could have theoretically allowed the Lakers to play All-NBA center/power forward Anthony Davis at the four-spot more, opted to join former 2020 L.A. champion Kyle Kuzma on the lowly Washington Wizards rather than sign with the Lakers, among other interested parties.

The 6-foot-11 big man is still inked to a quite reasonable three-year, $30.3 million contract. Last year with New Orleans, the Lithuanian big man suited up for all 82 of the club's regular season games. He averaged 12.2 points on .559/.308/.785 shooting splits, 8.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 0.8 blocks per bout. Valanciunas has emerged as a solid 3-point shooter, although he wasn't last year. Across the four prior seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies and Pelicans, from 2020-23, he connected on 35.7 percent of his 1.5 triple tries a night. Assuming he could get back to that kind of floor-spacing, he could really play alongside Davis, whose own long range shot has abandoned him.

On a fresh episode of his podcast "Buha's Block," Jovan Buha of The Athletic suggests that the Lakers may opt to explore the possibility of acquiring Valanciunas again at some point this season.

Valanciunas numbered among the free agent options that All-Star Lakers combo forward LeBron James had been hoping the team would add this summer, as Buha notes.

“There was some interest, obviously,” Buha said. “He was on LeBron’s list, so I think the Lakers will probably revisit that. But I don’t think there’s as much interest as a guy like a Wendell Carter or some of these other guys that have popped up. So, I view it more as more of a mid-to-low tier trade target for them.”

Buha is not the first pundit to suggest that the Lakers are amenable to trading for Valanciunas, even after he opted to sign with the Washington Wizards in free agency. Nor is he the second.

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