The Washington Wizards are trading center Jonas Valančiūnas to the Sacramento Kings for second-round picks in 2028 and 2029 and Sidy Cissoko, league sources confirmed to The Athletic on Wednesday.
Marc Stein first reported the news.
Valančiūnas, 32, brings Sacramento plenty of rim protection and rebounding, plus the ability to stretch the floor with 3-point shooting capabilities. The Lithuanian product was in his first season with Washington, averaging 11.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game on 54 percent shooting. The Wizards signed Valančiūnas to a three-year, $30 million deal over the summer but he mostly playing behind Alex Sarr, Washington’s No. 2 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Valančiūnas, playing for his fifth team in 13 seasons, aids in bolstering Sacramento’s frontcourt with star Domantas Sabonis. Cissoko has played in just 17 games for the Kings this season.
On Wednesday, Washington shipped Kyle Kuzma to the Milwaukee Bucks in a trade where the Wizards acquired Khris Middleton.
Wizards get young wing, Kings add to frontcourt
What are we to make of the Wizards trading Valančiūnas to the Kings for a second-round pick in 2028, a second-round pick in 2029 and 20-year-old wing Cissoko?
In its broadest scope, the Wizards’ decision over the summer to sign Valančiūnas provided some instant offense, some defensive rebounding and some cover for Sarr to avoid getting shoved around by some of the league’s most physical bigs. We now also know adding Valančiūnas also yielded a pair of future second-round picks and another young wing (Cissoko) with positional size (and an undeveloped skill set).
The move to add Valančiūnas brought no “win damage.” Having Valančiūnas on the team did nothing to derail the Wizards’ hopes of protecting their 2025 draft lottery odds. In fact, even with Valančiūnas appearing in all of Washington’s games, Washington still eked out only an 8-41 record, by far the worst record in the league. That’s maximizing their lottery odds. — Josh Robbins, Wizards senior writer
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(Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
