Insider Reveals Wizards Asking Price for Jonas Valanciunas

The Washington Wizards are just a few weeks away from the NBA Trade Deadline, where they will officially have an answer as to whether or not the team will keep veteran center Jonas Valanciunas aboard.

Valanciunas, 32, has been a hot name in trade talks ever since he signed a three-year deal with the team over the summer. Though he wasn't eligible to be traded until Dec. 15, many believed the Wizards were looking to flip Valanciunas for future draft capital before Feb. 6.

However, The Athletic insider Josh Robbins believes that may not necessarily be the case.

"League sources told The Athletic the Wizards will consider dealing the 32-year-old center before the trade deadline if the right deal comes along. But finding a trade that serves the team’s long-term goals will be challenging," Robbins writes.

"Washington’s front office would want a draft pick (or picks) that would appreciably move the team’s rebuild forward — not, for instance, late second-round picks. But it will be hard to find a suitor, at least before the usual warm-up to trade talks in the final week or so before the deadline, who’d be willing to go much higher."

The Wizards still have Valanciunas under contract for the next two seasons, so there is not an immediate need to trade him. The Wizards can be picky because he could be traded over the offseason or at next year's trade deadline if a deal doesn't pan out in the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, Valanciunas and the Wizards will prepare for their next game tomorrow night as they head to San Francisco to face off against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET from inside the Chase Center.

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