{"id":77067,"date":"2024-05-11T15:19:01","date_gmt":"2024-05-11T19:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=77067"},"modified":"2024-05-11T15:19:01","modified_gmt":"2024-05-11T19:19:01","slug":"nba-free-agency-should-the-lakers-pursue-veteran-big-man-jonas-valanciunas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/05\/11\/nba-free-agency-should-the-lakers-pursue-veteran-big-man-jonas-valanciunas\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Free Agency: Should the Lakers Pursue Veteran Big Man?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s been clear time and time again: the Lakers need another big man next to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/davisan02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anthony Davis<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Luckily, a key Western Conference player is expected to be available: Pelicans center <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/v\/valanjo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jonas Valanciunas<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>NBA Free Agency: Should the Lakers Pursue Veteran Big Man?<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Background<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 11-year center has spent the last three seasons in the Crescent City. Starting all 82 games this year, Valanciunas averaged 12.2 points (56% FG, 30% 3PT, 78% FT), 8.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.8 blocks per contest. In the first round against the OKC Thunder, JV put up 14.5 points and 11 rebounds on 52% shooting from the field and 82% from the free-throw line.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Valanciunas was a double-double machine for New Orleans, collecting 33 this season. One of his best games this year came against the Hornets on Dec. 15, scoring 29 points and pulling down 13 boards.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jonas Valanciunas 29 pts 13 rebs 4 asts vs Hornets 23\/24 season\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/I0SKRE4uafA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite his solid season, Valanciunas\u2019s production dipped after the All Star break due to a decrease in minutes. In just 19 minutes per contest, JV averaged 9.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists on 52% shooting from the field. He <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/pelicans\/news\/jonas-valanciunas-2023-2024-nba-season-in-review-new-orleans-pelicans\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">spoke with NBA.com<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> regarding the shift, reiterating his role as a \u201cteam player\u201d:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whatever it takes. The big picture is winning. We didn\u2019t do that this year enough. As I said to the coaching staff, I\u2019m here to help. I\u2019m here to do everything to win games.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Still, as HoopsHype\u2019s Mike Scotto noted, Valanciunas may no longer be the best fit on the Pelicans, leading other teams\u2014especially contenders\u2014to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/05\/10\/new-orleans-pelicans-expected-to-move-on-from-starter-jonas-valanciunas\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">seek him out during the offseason<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The Case for Jonas Valanciunas<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Compared to other bigs expected to hit the market, Valanciunas may be one of the Lakers\u2019 best options if they are serious about getting help for Davis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even at 32 years old, Valanciunas has been able to hold his own. He has continued to command a presence in the paint on offense, attempting 87% of his shots there and making 61% of them. He also averaged a career-high 17.8 points per game just two years ago. Valanciunas has also gone toe-to-toe against star-studded centers, recording <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/SkR1BJ5onTY?si=E_FuDIAJoKQNo7J1\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">22 points and eight rebounds<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> against now <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/05\/09\/denver-nuggets-superstar-wins-2024-mvp\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">three-time MVP<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jokicni01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nikola Jokic<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on Nov. 17.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In terms of playing style, Valanciunas stood out in the post, scoring an average of 1.07 points per possession on 56% shooting. He has also done well in the pick-and-roll, able to drive and finish through contact with ease. The Lakers will need someone else next to AD providing pressure in the paint, and Valanciunas could be that guy. It would also benefit LA to have another body ready for rebounds. JV grabbed an average of 6.5 defensive boards per game.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Valanciunas would also plug several key holes for the Lakers. The purple and gold finished second in points in the paint (55.6 per game), and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/teams\/misc?PlayerPosition=C&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=PTS_PAINT\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">their bigs were ninth in that category<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (10.9). However, they were also dead last in second-chance points (10.5 per game), with their centers contributing an average of 1.9 points (23rd in the NBA). This season, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/players\/misc?CF=PLAYER_NAME*E*Jonas\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Valanciunas scored an average of 7.6 points in the paint<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. He hardly scored any second-chance points himself (2.9 per game), but his ability to crash the glass would be vital for a team that struggled to create more offensive possessions.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The Last Word<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although AD continued to dominate in the middle, it\u2019s become clear that the Lakers\u2019 formula for success involves moving him to power forward and getting a quality center next to him. As it stands right now, Valanciunas is a good candidate for that position, even if he is one of the older veterans in the league. The team must prioritize frontcourt help in free agency, and Jonas Valanciunas should be near the top of their list.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s been clear time and time again: the Lakers need another big man next to Anthony Davis. Luckily, a key Western Conference player is expected to be available: Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas. NBA Free Agency: Should the Lakers Pursue Veteran Big Man? Background The 11-year center has spent the last three seasons in the Crescent [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":76780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,26,62],"tags":[49059,240,167,38],"class_list":["post-77067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","tag-2024-nba-free-agents","tag-anthony-davis","tag-jonas-valanciunas","tag-lebron-james"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}