Despite a disappointing loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers have played very good basketball in the month of January. LA has a 8-5 record to start off 2025 and are currently the fifth seed in the Western Conference.
In addition to that, the Lakers are 13th in offensive rating (115.0) and 15th in defensive rating (113.3). They are around the middle of the pack in both categories, and it still feels like they could use one or two more pieces to become serious contenders in the West. Listening to Anthony Davis’ recent comments would be a step in the right direction.
The Los Angeles Lakers must trade for Washington Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas.
Valanciunas has been solid for Washington in his debut season with the team. Averaging only about 20 minutes per game, the Lithuanian big man is averaging about 12 points per game and eight rebounds, while shooting 56% from the field. He also has 12 double-doubles.
Valanciunas is also very efficient in the paint, shooting about 69 percent at the rim this season, which is above league average. He is also efficient in the pick and roll, and that fits well with LeBron James, allowing the Lakers to have two guys they can rely upon as rollers.
Davis has said that he is more comfortable playing the power forward than center, even though most metrics suggest that he is better playing center. However, LA has not been able to survive the non-Davis minutes this season, as the team has a -4.4 net rating with him off the floor and a 116.2 defensive rating.
Valanciunas doesn’t come with his shortcomings, however, as he is not a good shooter and could mess up LA’s floor spacing. He is only shooting 28 percent from three-point range this season. He also struggles defending in space at times, but playing with an elite defender in Davis could mitigate that concern.
Valanciunas is clearly an upgrade over the Lakers’ current backup bigs in Jaxson Hayes and Christian Koloko. He is a stronger rebounder and is a more physical paint defender and a more efficient offensive player than both of them.
Adding him may not make the Lakers bona fide championship contenders in a tough Western Conference, but it makes their team better positioned for a playoff run this season.