Breaking News: Another LeBron target snatched by the Nuggets while Lakers…

Last offseason, LeBron James was willing to take a substantial pay cut to see the Los Angeles Lakers bring in some reinforcements to the team. One of the names rumored to be on the list, at the time, was Jonas Valanciunas.

The veteran center instead took a well-traveled path that led him first to the Washington Wizards, then to the Sacramento Kings. Valanciunas is changing homes yet again, and his new surrounding still won’t be the warm and sunny skies of Los Angeles.

Shams Charania announced, “The Sacramento Kings are trading Jonas Valanciunas to the Denver Nuggets for Dario Saric, sources tell ESPN.”

Since the trade was announced, there have not been any additional details about added compensation from the Nuggets other than Saric himself. Seeing Valanciunas join a Western Conference rival for that extremely low of a price has to sting for Rob Pelinka and Lakers fans.

The availability of Valanciunas on the offseason trade market was known to all. It was something that Michael Scotto brought up a long time ago in one of his intel drops.

Valanciunas averaged 10.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks per game, while shooting 55.6 percent from the field in 2024-25. That type of production came in only 18.8 minutes per game this season.

Perhaps Valanciunas does not tick every box imaginable for the Lakers, with relation to the desirable attributes wanted from their center spot. However, with options quickly shrinking around the league, a low-cost maneuver for someone of his quality would not have been for nothing.

The Lakers will now join the remaining teams hunting for a center who are circling DeAndre Ayton and Al Horford like hungry fish in the water. Who remains past that? Perhaps someone like Chris Boucher would be an option on the free agent market who could offer intrigue as well.

Lakers fans are pleading to see answers after seeing another contender continue to improve their roster. Teams like the Nuggets and Houston Rockets are comfortably outpacing the Lakers entirely in the evolving pecking order of the Western Conference.

Perhaps this is all the calm before the storm and the Lakers have something big brewing. That will certainly be the thought fans try to comfort themselves with after the Nuggets took away another center option for an absolute bargain of a price.