Report: Jonas Valanciunas Trade More "Challenging" Than Expected

The Washington Wizards clearly signed center Jonas Valanciunas to a three-year free agent deal this past summer with the intention of trading him to a team in need at this season's deadline and gaining some young assets in return.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the bargaining table. The Athletic's Josh Robbins and David Aldridge are reporting that teams are not offering as nice a return as the Wizards would like.

Finding a trade that serves the team’s long-term goals will be challenging.
Washington’s front office would want a draft pick (or picks) that would appreciably move the team’s rebuild forward — not, for instance, late second-round picks. But it will be hard to find a suitor, at least before the usual warm-up to trade talks in the final week or so before the deadline, who’d be willing to go much higher.

"One league source, whose team is not currently involved with the Wizards in discussions about Valančiūnas, believes that two second-rounders will wind up being the maximum Washington can get for him," write Robbins and Aldridge.

Teams who would be interested in JV for some depth would likely be contenders who aren't interested in dealing away any rotation players. The LA Lakers are consistently one of the teams linked to interest in the big man, along with four others.

Valanciunas signed a three-year, $30.3 million contract in free agency, and the final season is not guaranteed.

In the meantime, he's providing solid veteran experience and leadership for a Wizards team that is in the throes of a rebuild. In a career-low 19.9 minutes per game, JV is averaging 11.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists.