The Pelicans traded for a veteran center and, before he even played a game for them, signed him to a fairly lucrative contract extension.
They’ll hope it goes better with Jonas Valanciunas than Steven Adams.
After surrendering draft capital to dump Adams and Eric Bledsoe onto and get Valanciunas from the Grizzlies, New Orleans signed Valanciunas to an extension.
Andrew Lopez of ESPN:
New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas has agreed on a two-year extension worth $30.1 million, his agents Aaron Mintz, Mitch Nathan and Drew Morrison of @CAA_Basketball tell ESPN.
— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) October 20, 2021
Valanciunas is now committed to the Pelicans for $44.1M over the next three seasons.
This sounds like the largest extension Valanciunas could have signed while remaining eligible to be traded ($30,135,000)
That’s a reasonable amount to commit to 29-year-old Valanciunas, who was very good for Memphis last season. Valanciunas has once again shown he values financial security with an extension over chasing more money in free agency.
But it’s unclear how Valanciunas fits with Zion Williamson, who’s out with a foot injury. New Orleans’ franchise player, Williamson is an elite finisher with intriguing playmaking skills. Ideally, the Pelicans would prioritize spreading the floor around him (complicated considering Williamson also needs a defensive-crutch big beside him).
Valanciunas is a better floor spacer than Adams. But Valanciunas isn’t a prolific 3-point shooter. He’s not a defensive stopper, either.
A quality interior scorer, capable mid-range shooter, superb rebounder, helpful passer and reasonable defensive paint clogger, Valanciunas can help New Orleans, especially in the regular season. Merely making the playoffs is the most urgent goal because of the need to satisfy Williamson sooner than later.
But it’d be nice for the Pelicans if they had more understanding of Valanciunas’ ability to help Williamson as Williamson ascends further over the coming years.
