Jonas Valanciunas Losing Value For Wizards?

Washington Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas will have his fate decided within the week as the trade deadline approaches.

Jeremy Brener | Jan 31, 2025

Jan 19, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Washington Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas (17) runs up the court during the fourth quarter of the game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images / Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

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Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards are less than a week away from the NBA Trade Deadline, where moves will have to be made in order for the team to trudge along in the rebuild.

One of the players that could find himself somewhere else is veteran center Jonas Valanciunas, who has a lot of interest from teams around the league.

Bleacher Report writer Dan Favale listed Valanciunas as a player most likely to be traded by the Wizards.

"Washington isn't brimming with rotation bigs, but Alex Sarr is quietly finding himself on offense, and we're fast approaching the official start of Tristan Vukcevic's season," Favale writes. "Bake in the number of squads browsing the market for bigs who don't cost first-rounders, and Valanciunas is the rightful No. 1."

The Wizards' future at the center position belongs to Sarr, and Washington knew that when it signed Valanciunas days after drafting the No. 2 overall pick out of France. However, the Wizards wanted Valanciunas to be a mentor for Sarr.

Just because Sarr has played half a season of NBA basketball doesn't mean he no longer needs a mentor. In fact, the lack of veteran mentorship on the roster is a big reason why the Wizards have 40 losses before February.

That being said, there is value in giving Sarr more minutes and allowing Vukcevic a little more run just to give the Wizards more of a chance to see what they have in those guys. Valanciunas does potentially cut into their playing time.

There's a balance at play here, but Valanciunas' value on the roster is legitimate. The question is if the Wizards could get even more out of a trade than what he gives right now. It's two different, non-comparable types of value, so that puts the Wizards in a tricky spot.

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Published Jan 31, 2025

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.