PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns nearly brought on center Jonas Valanciunas via the trade deadline before ultimately deciding to go in a different direction - according to the player himself.
Valanciunas was ultimately dealt to the Sacramento Kings from the Washington Wizards in exchange for two second-round picks and Sidy Cissoko.
During an interview with BasketNews.com, Valanciunas offered the following:
“I found out I was going to Domas (Sabonis),” Valanciunas said. "There were other teams in the mix — some new potential destinations.”
“But there wasn’t much talk about Domas and Sacramento. Denver (Nuggets) came up, Phoenix (Suns) too — things were unclear there with Nurkic. San Antonio (Spurs) was also in the picture. So yeah, there were a few teams."
The Suns eventually dealt Jusuf Nurkic to the Charlotte Hornets and a 2026 first-round pick to Charlotte for Cody Martin, Vasa Micic and a 2026 second-round pick.
This came after Phoenix acquired Hornets center Nick Richards in a prior trade.
Valanciunas averaged 10.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and two assists during the 2024-25 season on 55% shooting.
The Suns certainly needed something different than Nurkic - would Valanciunas have flipped the script for Phoenix?
It's very unlikely, though he's a great free throw shooter and is nearly a double-double player throughout his career.
Valanciunas is set to be under contract for the next two seasons.