The Washington Wizards parted ways with another rotation regular Wednesday afternoon.
Jonas Valanciunas was traded to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for two second-round draft picks and the since-waived Sidy Cissoko as they continue gathering future assets before the trade deadline’s end.
This is the second major move the Wizards have made before Thursday’s 3:00 p.m. ET deadline, as Valanciunas joins Kyle Kuzma as the most recently departed Wizards. Both trades bolstered Washington’s asset pool, with Milwaukee dumping Khris Middleton’s contract along with the rookie AJ Johnson and a pick swap on the development-oriented Wizards.
The pair of veterans were among Washington’s most relied-upon scorers on a roster already short on veterans, but it’s not like the team is hard-pressed to total as many wins as possible this season. More responsibility now falls on Jordan Poole and the recently-drafted young core of Bilal Coulibaly, Bub Carrington, Keyonte George and Alex Sarr, who Valanciunas spent the first half of the season mentoring as a young big settling into the league.
Valanciunas signed a three-year, $30 million deal last summer as one of the top centers on the market, just the kind of manageable deal that tankers take on to rebuild a player’s value before waving the contract in buyers’ faces.
The big Lithuanian was a dependable inside scorer and rebounder in an otherwise inexperienced Wizards lineup, averaging 11.5 points on 60.2% true shooting and 8.2 boards per night.
His lack of a spacing threat, defense and age kept him from starting regularly on the young roster. This makes it curious why Sacramento wanted him, as he shares many of the same shortcomings as their guaranteed starting center, fellow countryman Domantas Sabonis.
However, the Kings have shown themselves willing to compete, even in a Western Conference that continues to add star power from the famously inferior conference. They got in on the action, bringing Zach LaVine over from Chicago for their piece of the De’Aaron Fox trade, and they clearly look to keep scrounging for wins by adding Valanciunas to the equation.
The Wizards will no doubt get worse by losing two sizable scorers, but that’s not this front office’s focus. They’ve built what they have through youth and the draft, and this trade only bought them more ammo to add to next year’s team.
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