Lakers Trade Rumors: Wizards' Jonas Valančiūnas Still 'Legitimately' on LA's Radar

Amid an inconsistent start to the season, the Los Angeles Lakers are keeping an eye on the trade market with the hope of adding another big man to their rotation.

On the latest episode of The Hoop Collective Podcast (starts at 21:06 mark), ESPN's Dave McMenamin noted that Washington Wizards center Jonas Valančiūnas is still "legitimately" on the Lakers' radar.

"Matt Barnes played with Kobe," McMenamin said. "This happens sometimes, but you look at Valančiūnas certainly is a name that's legitimately still on the Lakers radar and we'll have to see how Washington seasons go. We have Portland having a really terrible start to the year, but [Robert Williams III]'s back in the mix."

The Lakers have been linked to Valančiūnas since the offseason when they were talked about as potentially signing him in free agency.

Given the financial situation for the Lakers, especially since they also had to re-sign LeBron James, a free-agent deal for Valančiūnas was always going to be tricky to pull off. He wound up going to the Wizards in a sign-and-trade with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Valančiūnas' contract with the Wizards is only $30.3 million over three years, so it shouldn't be difficult to move in a trade if Washington wants to move on.

It would be a surprise if the Lakers don't add another center at some point during the season. Christian Wood is still on their roster, but he has yet to play due to a knee injury that required surgery in March.

Head coach JJ Redick told reporters on Tuesday that Wood suffered a setback in his rehab and will be re-evaluated in four weeks. Even if Wood gets healthy enough to play, his history of defensive issues makes it difficult to trust him in key moments.

Anthony Davis, who previously had no interest in playing center, seems to have relented in the best interest of the team. It has paid off so far, as he looks like an MVP candidate, averaging an NBA-high 31.2 points on 57.7 percent shooting along with 10.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game in nine starts.

Jaxson Hayes has been fine as the backup center. He's averaging 6.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in 10 appearances.

Adding Valančiūnas would allow Redick to get more creative with his lineups. The Lakers could go with two bigs against certain opponents by playing Valančiūnas at center and moving Davis to power forward.

Valančiūnas is averaging 12.3 points and 7.2 rebounds in 20.6 minutes per game over nine appearances for the Wizards this season. They are off to a 2-7 start and should be focusing on their long-term future, which could make the 32-year-old big man expendable.

The Lakers are 6-4 to start the season and seventh in the Western Conference, but their 117.0 defensive rating is the seventh-worst in the NBA.