An interesting new report suggests the Los Angeles Lakers are no longer interested in making a trade for a player they have been linked to for weeks.
The first half of the Lakers 2024-25 season was always expected to be up-and-down. In the summer, the organization chose not to make major moves to the roster and instead decided a head coach change was the remedy to their problems from last season.
However, they replaced Darvin Ham with NBA veteran JJ Redick. A former ESPN analyst who has no head coach experience at any level. Nevertheless, the team enters their Christmas Day game against the Golden State Warriors with a 16-13 record. And signs that this team can get better as the synergy between the roster and their new coach improves.
For months the organization has been linked to various trade rumors, with the most prominent in recent weeks being a move for an impact big man. A lot of the speculation specifically pointed to Washington Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas.
However, on Monday, Lakers reporter Jovan Buha suggested the organization was never interested in the 13-year-veteran.
- Jonas Valanciunas stats (2024): 11.6 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.8 BPG
Have Los Angeles Lakers moved on from Jonas Valanciunas trade?
“I’ve been saying as more time passes it’s felt like the Jonas situation has been more of a smoke screen. It’s now Christmas Eve and the Lakers could have had Valanciunas nine days ago,” Buha said in a YouTube post. “So the fact that they haven’t, that is making me feel with each passing day it’s probably less likely that Valanciunas ends up a Laker. And that’s fine in my opinion because I think he is too defensively limited.”
Jonas Valanciunas contract: Three years, $30. 2 million
Valanciunas has been seen as a top name on the Los Angeles Lakers trade wishlist for quite some time.
However, on Dec. 15 he became eligible to be traded. Yet, nothing has happened in the week since so it is understandable why Buha believes the rumors were just that.
Recent reports have suggested the Wizards may have been looking for more than just second-round picks in a potential trade.
