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New Orleans Pelicans-Jonas Valanciunas Reunion Won't Be Happening This Offseason
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- New Orleans Pelicans-Jonas Valanciunas Reunion Won't Be Happening This Offseason
(Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images)
The New Orleans Pelicans had a perfect opportunity to bring back a veteran center that fit their roster pop up, but it just as quickly went away.
After an unsuccessful stint with the Denver Nuggets , veteran center Jonas Valanciunas is headed back home to sign with Lithuanian professional team Zalgiris Kaunas per European insider Donatas Urbonas .
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Valanciunas is coming off the worst season of his 14-year NBA career, but he still would have checked the boxes of what the Pelicans still need in their front court.
He is one of the centers around the league who could fill a similar role to Derik Queen in a game plan. He's also a bit more of a physical presence in the paint while also stretching the floor with respectable shooting ability.
Valanciunas spent three years on the Pelicans and they have very much missed him in the two years since his departure. Now he'll head home and they'll need to find somebody else.
Remaining Center Options
If New Orleans still wants to add another big to their rotation they can, but the options on the open market are thinning out. Here are a couple of the more intriguing names left:
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Nick Richards
Richards isn't the flashiest name, but he might be the best value. At the very least, he's a more reliable option who fills in the holes left by Queen and Yves Missi. He's also averaged 5.8 points and 5.1 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game last year.
Him being 6-foot-11, 245 pounds might be enough. He would be a pickup with similar hopes to what Kevon Looney was meant to bring to the team, though that clearly didn't work as intended.
Moussa Cisse
Cisse is a free agent, though he is restricted as the Dallas Mavericks retained his rights from his two-way last year. He's also was a promising rookie, but changing management might clear a path for the Pelicans to swoop in. He's a great athlete with a high defensive ceiling, which is music to New Orleans' ears.
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Christian Koloko
Koloko being one of the best available options is a sign of the state of the market, as he is still unproven as an NBA talent, but he does offer more than a lot of his peers.
The seven-footer has a high defensive ceiling, as he was an ace in college. He's had a blood clot issue that has disrupted a lot of his early career, so there is a lot of untapped potential.
