Jonas Valanciunas could get the best out of Anthony Davis

The Los Angeles Lakers could target Jonas Valanciunas in free agency, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported.

“Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas, who’s approaching unrestricted free agency, has been another big man often mentioned by NBA figures as a potential Lakers frontcourt addition this summer,” Fischer wrote.

The veteran big man is the type of center that Anthony Davis has thrived next to at other points in his career. Davis' best season with the Lakers came when he was lining up next to Dwight Howard in 2020, the same season the Lakers won a championship.

Valanciunas is a high-level rebounder. He protects the rim as a drop defender. And he can live on the perimeter when playing offense, allowing Davis to do the dirty work in the mid-range and around the rim.

During his three seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans, Valanciunas averaged 34.1 percent on 1.6 attempts per game from three-point range.

More importantly, Valanciunas can help pressure the offensive glass. He's averaged 2.7 offensive rebounds over the last three seasons. A frontcourt trio of Valanciunas, Davis and LeBron James would be an elite rebounding unit on both sides of the floor. As such, the Lakers could control the tempo of games.

Valanciunas would also allow Davis to operate as a weak-side roamer on defense, a role that was popularized by Robert Williams III during the Boston Celtics' 2022 season under Ime Udoka. Davis would likely become an elite weak-side defender and could see his blocks per game skyrocket.

In recent years, the Lakers have fallen into the trap of chasing a three-star roster. Instead, smaller moves like picking up Valanciunas on the free-agent market are the way to round out the roster and potentially compete for a championship.

He isn't a sexy name and won't sell many jerseys or merchandise.
However, Valanciunas will allow Davis' game to flourish and could take the Lakers to another level.