Golden State Warriors preseason trade target: Jonas Valančiūnas
Jonas Valanciunas was traded from the Memphis Grizzlies to the New Orleans Pelicans. Given the spacing that he can provide, he should give an almost instant boost to the Pelicans’ Zion Williamson-centric offense.
Williamson and Brandon Ingram will both be better off with Big Val on the court. However, so would the Warriors.
Over the last several seasons, the Warriors have created a death lineup, using Andre Iguodala or Juan Toscano-Anderson to space the floor with all five players. They haven’t had a shooting center since DeMarcus Cousins and even then Cousins was a liability defensively.
Valanciunas isn’t the star the fans would want, but he’d be a solid addition. He averaged 17.1 points and 12.5 rebounds per game last season, both the highest of his career. He also shot 36 percent from deep, knocking down .3 triples per game.
So, he’s clearly not a volume three-point shooter, but when he squares up, he can knock them down at a quality rate. That type of production is something the Warriors frontcourt could certainly use.
This could be a good mid-season trade as well if the Pelicans start to slip in the rankings.