Jonas Valančiūnas Trade Would Help Lakers at the Right Price amid Latest NBA Rumors

The Los Angeles Lakers' need for an upgrade at the center spot is both obvious and pressing.

It's just not one they can afford to overspend on when addressing.

If the latest rumblings on the NBA trade rumor mill are correct, though, they won't necessarily have to splurge to fill that spot.

According to HoopsHype's Michael Scotto, the Lakers might try "dangling [Gabe] Vincent and future second-round picks to try and land Wizards center Jonas Valančiūnas."

That's surely a familiar name for the fanbase at this point. The Lakers were linked to Valančiūnas in free agency, whom LeBron James reportedly considered as the kind of "impact player" he would've taken a pay cut in order for L.A. to add, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

It's not at all surprising to hear the Lakers still have interest in Valančiūnas.

While injuries have hurt this frontcourt, even its full-strength version leaves plenty to be desired. The Lakers lack consistency and reliability behind Anthony Davis, and they have struggled to contain brute-force bigs on the offensive glass and out of the post.

Valančiūnas, a 6'11", 265-pounder in his 13th NBA season, would immediately help attack those specific issues. He is tricky to move off of the low block and keeps active on the boards. His career per-36-minutes averages include 13.2 rebounds with 9.4 coming on the defensive end, per Basketball-Reference.

He's been even more active this season (14 rebounds, 9.8 defensive boards per 36 minutes), not to mention about as offensively potent as ever. His 3.8 assists per 36 minutes are the most of his career, while his 21.8 points per 36 minutes are the second-most he's ever posted.

He's also shooting a rock-solid 58 percent from the field (third-best of his career) and converting a personal-best 91.8 percent of his free throws. Given what the Lakers have—or, more accurately, don't have—alongside and behind Davis up front, that's the kind of stat line that could have their front office salivating.

This frontline keeps getting pushed around on the defensive glass (69.7 defensive rebounding percentage, 24th overall, per NBA.com). It's also getting bullied around the basket on the defensive end (52.2 paint points allowed per game, 26th).

Valančiūnas would immediately impact both areas. Assuming the Lakers would slot him into a reserve role, he'd also address this club's dearth of scoring depth (24.3 bench points per game, 29th).

Those are important boxes to check—assuming L.A. could do that without sacrificing a prime trade asset. Because Valančiūnas has limitations on the perimeter at both ends, the Lakers can't afford to fork over their best trade chips. There's a decent chance this team, which has dropped five of its last seven, could make multiple trips to the trade market in search of roster reinforcements.

The Lakers will want to make sure they have enough to get multiple deals done, then. And since they're already operating on a rather limited budget—they have two future first-rounders to send out, but nothing else that would qualify as needle-moving (assuming Austin Reaves is off-limits)—they must carefully monitor how much they're spending.

If the price is right, though, Valančiūnas has plenty to give this group. If Vincent, who has struggled with injuries and inconsistency across his season-plus tenure with the team, and a couple of second-rounders would really get a deal done, then that's a move worth making.