![\"Anthony](\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/GettyImages-2196298699-e1738074062880.jpg?quality=65&strip=all&w=780\")
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Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts following a play during the second half of the game against the Charlotte Hornets.<\/p>\n
Anthony Davis continued his dominant form, but the Los Angeles Lakers continue to get bad news on the trade front in their search for a center to grant their star\u2019s wish.<\/p>\n
NBA insider Marc Stein reported on Monday, Jan. 27, that there is no momentum toward such a trade, with the Feb. 6 trade deadline just more than a week away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWashington\u2019s Jonas Valan\u010di\u016bnas is another off-mentioned Lakers trade target and would appear to be the most gettable proven big man for L.A. to pursue given all the parameters it has been weighing, but substantial momentum on a Valan\u010di\u016bnas-to-Lakerland deal has yet to manifest,\u201d Stein wrote in his \u201cThe Stein Line newsletter on Substack.<\/em><\/p>\n Jovan Buha of The Athletic pointed out the challenge the Lakers are facing in the trade market after giving up three second-round picks to land Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton from the Brooklyn Nets.<\/p>\n \u201cMy sense lately, that I\u2019ve been hearing, has been trending more toward them making a smaller move and probably using second-round draft capital and the issue there is that their second-round draft capital isn\u2019t really worth that much because it\u2019s their pick and the Clippers\u2019 pick and both of those picks are projected right now to be between like 45 and 52 depending on where those two teams finish in the standings so those aren\u2019t the sexiest second-round picks,\u201d Buha said on his podcast \u201cBuha\u2019s Block\u201d following the Lakers\u2019 102-101 win over the Nets on Jan. 17. \u201cYou typically want a first half of the second round-type pick.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Anthony Davis Continues to Dominate as Center<\/strong><\/p>\n For the first time since he became a Laker, the mild-mannered Davis made public his wish to play next to a center.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we need another big,\u201d Davis told ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania before the Lakers trounced the weary defending champions Boston Celtics 117-96 on Jan. 23. \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve always been at my best when I\u2019ve been the 4, having a big out there. We know it worked when we won a championship with JaVale [McGee] and Dwight [Howard] at the 5 and I\u2019m at the 4.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Davis enjoyed his best season with the Lakers during that championship run, finishing sixth in the MVP voting and second in the Defensive Player of the Year race. McGee was the Lakers\u2019 starting center in 68 games during the regular season and 11 games in the playoffs.<\/p>\n Davis has produced back-to-back monster games since his wish to play next to a center went public.<\/p>\n The Lakers star was dominant with a 20-40 game (42 points, 23 rebounds, two assists and two blocks) in their 112-107 win over the Charlotte Hornets to open their six-game East Coast trip on Monday, Jan. 27. Before that, he had 36 points and 13 rebounds with three assists, three steals and one block in their 118-108 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 25.<\/p>\n Jonas Valan\u010di\u016bnas Fits JJ Redick\u2019s Type<\/strong><\/p>\n Valan\u010di\u016bnas isn\u2019t a rim-runner and a lob threat like McGee or Howard. The 6-foot-11 Lithuanian center is more of the bruiser and enforcer-type of a big man, which is exactly what Lakers rookie head coach JJ Redick wanted to ease Davis\u2019 defensive burden and preserve his energy on offense.<\/p>\n \u201cYou certainly have to look at what I think is actually a very good roster, a very balanced roster,\u201d Redick told Sirius XM NBA Radio during the NBA Summer League in July. \u201cWe\u2019d love to, we tried, but we\u2019d love to, at some point, get another five man, a big bruising five man.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou look at the Western Conference right now, whether it\u2019s Denver, Minnesota, OKC with what they added, certainly Memphis, they\u2019re going to be back in the hunt, they added Zach Edey, certain matchups in the playoffs, you\u2019re going to need a lot of size.\u201d<\/p>\n The Lakers wanted Valan\u010di\u016bnas in the offseason. He was on LeBron James\u2018 shortlist of then-free agents he was willing to take a paycut for. But he wasn\u2019t on top of their list with Klay Thompson and James Harden ahead of him. So, Valan\u010di\u016bnas went for the guaranteed money the Wizards offered and agreed to a three-year, $30 million deal on the first day of free agency.<\/p>\n Valan\u010di\u016bnas is averaging 11.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists in just 19.6 minutes for the Wizards, who are prioritizing playing their young players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts following a play during the second half of the game against the Charlotte Hornets. Anthony Davis continued his dominant… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29391,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n