When we think about the Sacramento Kings and their needs in free agency, center isn’t often at the top of the list. The Kings have Domantas Sabonis at center, and Domas has been an All-Star and All-NBA in his time in Sacramento. So I raised an eyebrow when it was reported that the Kings are the odds-on favorite to land Jonas Valanciunas in free agency:
The Sacramento Kings are the favorites to win the Jonas Valanciunas sweepstakes, per @BovadaOfficial
Sacramento Kings: +400
Los Angeles Clippers: +500
Charlotte Hornets: +550
Utah Jazz: +550
Chicago Bulls: +550
Washington Wizards: +650
Oklahoma City Thunder: +650
Brooklyn Nets:… pic.twitter.com/BNFLEZUohC— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 18, 2024
We normally don’t pay much attention to betting lines around here, and these odds in particular suggest that the bookmakers don’t have a strong idea where Jonas will land. The Kings being in first place seems like a situation of “somebody has to have the best odds, and Jonas and Domas are friends”.
But the odds do make you stop to think, would Valanciunas be a good fit in Sacramento? The Kings have struggled to find an impactful backup center since acquiring Domas. Richaun Holmes never adapted to his role and ended up costing the Kings a 2023 first round pick to unload. JaVale McGee was too up and down. Alex Len is solid and reliable but unspectacular. Jonas would be a significant upgrade to the Kings center depth, allowing Sacramento to have one of Sabonis or Valanciunas on the floor at all times.
Valanciunas also brings significant size and toughness to a Kings team that has lacked it in recent years. Although Jonas is listed as just an inch taller than Sabonis, Kings fans saw firsthand this season how much bigger Valanciunas plays. Too many times.
I’d have some concerns if the Kings signed JV as one of their main big moves this offseason. Although Jonas is willing and capable of shooting the three (career 34% from beyond the arc), he’s coming off a down year where he shot just 30.8% from 3, and was often benched late in games by the Pelicans. Even if he returns to form next season, JV and Sabonis are a tenuous fit next to each other. We saw in Indiana that Sabonis isn’t maximized next to another center, and I don’t like the idea of Sabonis regularly being asked to guard 4s. Sabonis showed himself capable of handling smaller players briefly on switches this past season, but that’s a far cry from doing it game in and game out.
I suspect this ends up as a blip in the offseason radar and Jonas ends up signing somewhere else, but there are certainly worse ideas to discuss over a weekend in the offseason. So chime in below, what do you think about Jonas Valanciunas as a Kings FA target?
