Hours after Kyle Kuzma was dealt to Milwaukee, the Wizards’ veteran purge continued with Jonas Valanciunas heading west.
Per Shams Charania, the Wiz are trading Valanciunas to the Sacramento Kings for Sidy Cissoko and two second-round picks; according to Bobby Marks, those picks are the 2028 pick they are owed from Denver (which is protected from Nos. 31-33) from the De’Aaron Fox trade and their own in 2029.
Those picks are assets Washington can now use after second-round draft compensation was part of the Bucks’ return in the Kuzma deal.
Sacramento is using about 80 percent of it’s $12.8 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception to add Valanciunas, who is making $9.9 million in year one of a three-year, $30 million deal he signed in Washington last offseason.
The 32-year-old Valanciunas has been mostly been coming off the bench this season, but is averaging 11.5 points and 8.8 rebounds in 20.1 minutes per game over 49 games (12 starts).
Washington’s return on the court now is Cissoko, a second-round pick in 2023 who was also part of the Bulls-Kings-Spurs deal that sent Fox to San Antonio. The 20-year-old Frenchman was averaging just 3.2 minutes per contest in 17 games, but now joins countrymen Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr on a Wizards team that is fully in the youth movement phase of their rebuild.
Kuzma and Valanciunas may not be all that end up going before Thursday’s trade deadline, as the league could have interest in Malcolm Brogdon or Marvin Bagley – veterans on expiring deals – or perhaps even Jordan Poole, who has two years and $66 million left on his deal.
The Wizards could also look to do something further with Middleton, who has a player option worth $34 million for 2025-26 that could escalate to $36.5 million with incentives and bonuses.