Valanciunas’ bombshell hit with a three-year, $30 million contract

He was one of the best free agents on the market and left no time to waste. Jonas Valanciunas has signed with the Wizards and is moving to Washington for three years, $30 million.

The 32-year-old, 6’11” player said goodbye to the New Orleans Pelicans after three years, while in 12 seasons in the NBA he averaged 13.4 points (58% from two-pointers, 35% from three-pointers, 79% from shooting), 9.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and blocks per 25.7 minutes in 856 regular season games.

In total, during his career with the Raptors, Grizzlies and Pelicans, Valanciunas has made $135,756,944, while this summer he decided not to compete for Lithuania in the Olympic preliminaries so as not to risk his NBA future.

The question of course that arises from the Wizards-Valanciunas deal is how and where Alex Charr, the young Frenchman the team acquired with the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, will be used, and that question can only be answered by the players and the organization’s coach.