Jonas Valanciunas expected to sign contract with Toronto Raptors

[url]http://aol.sportingnews.com/nba/story/2012-07-16/jonas-valanciunas-signs-contract-toronto-raptors-2011-nba-draft-lithuania[/url]

[QUOTE]Jonas Valanciunas, who the Toronto Raptors selected with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, is expected to sign with the team over the next few days and should be in training camp this fall, the Toronto Star reports. Valanciunas did not play with the Raptors last season because his buyout agreement called for him to play one more year with Lietuvos Rytas in Lithuania.

The letter of clearance, a formality before Valanciunas

[QUOTE][B] “This move frees up minutes for our players under contract, increases our financial flexibility[/B] and opens up a roster spot to address other needs.[/QUOTE]
Yes, because JJ's massive contract needed to be let go of in order to make room for Landry Field's pocket change of a contract.

Excited to see this kid play in the Olympics and of course with the Raptors. Hopefully he meets our expectations!

[QUOTE=Chamberlain]Excited to see this kid play in the Olympics and of course with the Raptors. Hopefully he meets our expectations![/QUOTE]

I agree completely! I have my tix for the preseason game vs the Knicks, and I hope he and Ross get a ton of run!

[QUOTE=clipse]I agree completely! I have my tix for the preseason game vs the Knicks, and I hope he and Ross get a ton of run![/QUOTE]

The one at the Bell Center?

[QUOTE=BoogieWoogieMan]The one at the Bell Center?[/QUOTE]


Yessir

[QUOTE=clipse]Yessir[/QUOTE]

Hot Diggaty! I'll be there as well, somewhere in the 2nd level. :cheers:

Jealous of you guys. I'll be in Montreal in August, wish the preseason was that early!

I really hope mtl gets a team someday, but knowing these athletes, nobody would want to play here due to the heavy french-speaking population.

My excitement for Val is the only thing keeping me around at the moment. I said this in another thread but if Val turns out to be what he's expected to be, suddenly our core doesn't look all that bad.

Only positive thing the raps have going for them.

[QUOTE=Chamberlain][B]Excited to see this kid play in the Olympics[/B] and of course with the Raptors. Hopefully he meets our expectations![/QUOTE]
Me too! I will definitely be paying attention to his team during the Olympics to see how he does.

It's official! As per raptors.com
[QUOTE]The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday they have signed centre Jonas Valanciunas (YO-nahs vah-lahn-CHEW-nahs) to his rookie scale contract. He is under contract through the 2013-14 season, with two team option years to follow. The Raptors selected the Lithuanian with the fifth overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft. Per team policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are very pleased to welcome Jonas to the organization,” said Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo. “We are certain that Raptors fans will soon realize that the year-long process was worth the wait.”

Valanciunas, seven-foot, 250 pounds, averaged 14.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 23.5 minutes in 23 Lithuanian league contests this past season with Lietuvos Rytas. He scored in double figures in 17 games and grabbed double-digit totals in rebounds in seven outings. He had a season-best 25 points (8-10 FG) with 12 rebounds and a season-high six blocks November 12 against Pieno Zvaigzdes.

Valanciunas was named 2011 FIBA Europe Young Men’s Player of the Year, earned the Eurocup Rising Star Trophy given to the most outstanding player under 22 and was presented the Lithuanian League All-Star Game Most Entertaining Player award.

Valanciunas appeared in 84 games in the Lithuanian League in his three professional seasons, averaging 11.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. He competed for his country in the 2011 U-19 World Championships, leading Lithuania to the gold medal. He averaged 23.0 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.2 blocks en route to the Most Valuable Player award. He totaled 36 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in the championship game victory over Serbia.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=bokes15]My excitement for Val is the only thing keeping me around at the moment. I said this in another thread but if Val turns out to be what he's expected to be, suddenly our core doesn't look all that bad.[/QUOTE]


What would Val have to do to meet your expectations? or all you you guys expectations? i.e 10/10/2?

[QUOTE=Carrib]What would Val have to do to meet your expectations? or all you you guys expectations? i.e 10/10/2?[/QUOTE]
It's funny you say that, because one of my friends asked me that same question a few days ago. For me, since it's his rookie season i'm not overly concerned about numbers, mostly about his impact. I'd be perfectly fine if he put up something like 10/10/2 as long as he keeps up that good defense, the hustle on the boards and that overall energy level that he had in Europe. I think there will be a learning curve however like when Marc Gasol came over so I wouldn't be surprised with something like 11/8/1 either.

It may take him a season or two to average the kind of numbers we'd like him to have, but as bokes said, as long as he doesn't look out of place this year, learns, defends and shows signs of improvement during the year, I think the majority of us would be very okay with that.

If he were to average 10/10/2 this year, I'd be ecstatic. 10RPG and 2BPG as a rookie is amazing.

10/7/1.5

think somewhere between Marcus Camby and Tyson Chandler rookie season.

[url]http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/jonas-valanciunas-dunk-video-alley-oop-backboard-lithuania-135317754--nba.html[/url]


DAMN!!!

[QUOTE=clipse][url]http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/jonas-valanciunas-dunk-video-alley-oop-backboard-lithuania-135317754--nba.html[/url]


DAMN!!![/QUOTE]


TAKE THAT ICELAND!!!!

Val's biggest issue will be staying on the floor. If he can do that, then I think he can be productive. Foul trouble has plagued him throughout his development up until last year but then he ran into it again in the recent qualifiers against the lower end of international teams.

He almost fouled out in 9 minutes against Venezuela and fouled out in 6 minutes against Puerto Rico.

He needs to figure that out fast because the NBA is a whole different ballgame.

[QUOTE=RaininThrees]TAKE THAT ICELAND!!!![/QUOTE]
Lol ...I'm surprised Iceland has a team.

Another foul-plagued game by Val vs Nigeria which limited his minutes. He takes those Amir type loose ball fouls on rebounds. I really hope he can adapt quickly to the NBA game. At least aggression won't be an issue.

I think he had 6 points and 5 rebounds against Argentina. Any idea what his numbers were in the Nigeria game?

edit: 4 points, 3 rebounds vs. Nigeria in just 11 minutes.

I said this in the main forum but the more I see him the more I realize just how raw he is. He is talented and i'm sure he will adjust with time but he probably won't be huge impact player in his first year, he's still in project stage.

[QUOTE=bokes15]I said this in the main forum but the more I see him the more I realize just how raw he is. He is talented and i'm sure he will adjust with time but he probably won't be huge impact player in his first year, he's still in project stage.[/QUOTE]

I agree. As long as he is able to stay on the floor, he can cause mayhem for defenses with his P&R game due to how active he is, his footwork/speed, and his ability to catch the ball in traffic.

He can develop a more refined back to the basket game as he matures, but P&R will be his bread and butter this season.

I'm hoping he plays 25-30 mins per game, but with the foul trouble, I'd expect it to be closer to 15-20 mins per game.


He's gotta learn to stay away from the ticky-tack fouls and to keep his vertical plane when jumping.

I really think Dwane Casey will be great for his development. I see him as the perfect coach for Valanciunas.

gonna be a foul machine in his first year imo

great motor though, he just needs to learn not to do too much, he doesnt have to use all his energy ALL the time, a good problem to have for a young player i guess

9 min against the USA :facepalm

I was really hoping to see him play some major minutes (at least 20+) against NBA talent

[QUOTE=Zan Tabak]9 min against the USA :facepalm

I was really hoping to see him play some major minutes (at least 20+) against NBA talent[/QUOTE]

yea me too. Lithuania is a very deep and experienced team though so it's understandable. He's been a liability during qualifiers, he's really foul prone.

Yeah, I watched that whole match against team USA and the limited stretches that he played he seemed to have trouble covering the bigger, stronger, faster NBA players. It's no easy task of course to go from Euroball to the NBA though, so I think season 2 we'll see a much better version of Val than season 1 vers.

Kleiza such a beast in international play but is our tank commander in the NBA. :coleman:

It's because the international game isn't so focused on ISO ball, nor is it on individual D. That's why all our Euro players, Calderon, Kleiza, Bargnani when he played, Val (in Europe) etc... always look so much better outside of the NBA. Kleiza is perfect for international ball. Big enough to play PF compared to the undersized PF's being played by most other countries. Can shoot the pull up, or assisted 3 with the best of them.

Finished off his Olympics with 7 points 9 rebounds 1 block in 16 minutes against Russia only 3 fouls.

Overall in his tournament he averaged about 12 minutes 4.2 points 4.0 rebounds and 0.5 blocks a game.

Not a bad tournament at all. His coach simply didn't give him much minutes. I guess fouls could've been a factor but he never picked up a fourth foul in any of the games.

[QUOTE=kmart]Finished off his Olympics with 7 points 9 rebounds 1 block in 16 minutes against Russia only 3 fouls.

[B]Overall in his tournament he averaged about 12 minutes 4.2 points 4.0 rebounds and 0.5 blocks a game.

Not a bad tournament at all[/B]. His coach simply didn't give him much minutes. I guess fouls could've been a factor but he never picked up a fourth foul in any of the games.[/QUOTE]
Let's be real, he had a HORRIBLE tourny. Foul prone and raw as f*ck. But i'm glad he participated nonetheless so that he knows how much work he has to do to hang with the big boys.