Jonas Valanciunas Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jonas Valanciunas Out At Least Four More Weeks

January 9th, 2019 at 1:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Jonas Valanciunas‘ left thumb injury continues to heal and his condition keeps improving, but the Raptors center is still several weeks away from returning to the court, the team announced today in a press release.

According to the Raptors, Valanciunas is now wearing a splint on his left thumb for basketball activities only. He’ll use the splint on that thumb – which he dislocated on December 12 – for about four more weeks and will be regularly evaluated as he rehabs the injury over that period.

Although Valanciunas will likely be sidelined until about the All-Star break, he’s not behind schedule in his recovery. In fact, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca observes (via Twitter), the veteran big man was supposed to be in a cast for four weeks, but he had that cast replaced with a smaller brace two weeks ago, so he appears to actually be ahead of schedule.

With Valanciunas out of the lineup, Serge Ibaka has seen a slightly increased role, while Greg Monroe has received regular minutes. Pascal Siakam has also spent some time at center, with two-way player Chris Boucher occasionally making his way into the rotation too.

The Raptors currently have two open roster spots after cutting Lorenzo Brown on Monday, and will have to fill at least one of those openings within the next couple weeks. Signing a big man to a 10-day contract or two is an option if the club is concerned at all about its frontcourt depth. Toronto could also promote Boucher to the 15-man squad and use his two-way slot on someone else, though that’s just my speculation.

Raptors Offer Updates On Lowry, Valanciunas

January 1st, 2019 at 1:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

It appears optimism about Kyle Lowry‘s return from quad and back issues was premature. The Raptors announced today in an email that their All-Star point guard had pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory injections for his lower-back soreness on Friday, and the team isn’t sure when he might return to action.

Lowry has taken the court just once in Toronto’s past eight games as the Raptors have slipped out of first place in the East. On Sunday, coach Nick Nurse told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps he expected Lowry back soon, but it appears the wait will be longer than expected.

“Any of our guys, we want them back as soon as possible,” Nurse said. “… I think we’re positive and hopeful that it’s going in the right direction, and we’ll see him back soon.”

Lowry’s injury is a two-part problem, Bontemps explains. At first, he was sidelined for a quad issue, then he missed the last three games with back soreness. He is averaging 14.4 points and a career-best 9.8 assists per night.

The Raptors also updated the condition of center Jonas Valanciunas, who had surgery after dislocating his left thumb on December 12. He had sutures removed from his hand three days ago and has started the rehab process, although no date has been set for him to return.

Jonas Valanciunas To Miss At Least Four Weeks

December 13th, 2018 at 2:33pm CST by Luke Adams

After suffering a dislocated left thumb during Wednesday night’s win over Golden State, Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas underwent surgery today at Stanford Medical Center, the team announced in a press release.

Valanciunas, who had his thumb relocated and the damage caused by the dislocation repaired, will remain in a cast for four weeks and will be re-evaluated at that point, according to the Raptors. In other words, it sounds like the veteran big man will miss at least the next month and will likely remain on the shelf beyond that.

It’s a tough loss for the Raptors, who have an NBA-best 23-7 record. Although Valanciunas had been primarily coming off the bench, he was playing a key role for the club, splitting minutes at the five with Serge Ibaka.

In Valanciunas’ absence, Ibaka may see a slight uptick in minutes. Greg Monroe, who has been out of Toronto’s rotation for most of the season, figures to play a more regular role too, while Pascal Siakam could also see some action at center in smaller lineups.

The Raptors have an open spot on their 15-man roster if they want to sign another frontcourt player. For now though, they’ll probably just rely on two-way player Chris Boucher for added depth up front. Boucher has been putting up huge numbers for Toronto’s G League affiliate, the Raptors 905, averaging 29 PPG and 11.6 RPG in 14 games. He scored 47 points on Wednesday.

Deveney’s Latest: Vucevic, Favors, Cavs, Valanciunas

October 26th, 2018 at 11:34am CST by Luke Adams

With Mohamed Bamba‘s NBA career off to a promising start and Nikola Vucevic on an expiring contract, the prevailing wisdom suggests that Vucevic’s days with the Magic may be numbered, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. However, multiple league sources tell Deveney that Orlando isn’t looking to move the veteran center at this point.

While the Magic have explored the trade market for Vucevic in past years, they’ve yet to entertain offers this season and have been happy with how he has looked so far, per Deveney. The club also doesn’t want to put too much pressure on Bamba before he’s ready. Of course, if Orlando falls out of playoff contention by February and is offered a first-round pick for Vucevic, the team’s stance could change. For now though, he’s not being shopped.

Deveney spoke to league executives about a few more potential trade candidates, with a focus on big men, so let’s round up the highlights…

Although Derrick Favors signed a new two-year deal with the Jazz during the summer, his $16.9MM salary for 2019/20 is non-guaranteed, and few people around the NBA expect him to still be in Utah at that point, according to Deveney. Favors could be a trade candidate at this season’s deadline if the Jazz are able to move him a more versatile forward.
The Cavaliers are unlikely to go into fire-sale mode anytime soon, one executive tells Deveney. “Don’t hold your breath,” the exec said. “If they decide to blow it all up, I don’t expect that to decision to be made until we get close to the deadline. They still think they can win.” If the Cavs do start moving veteran pieces, Tristan Thompson is one player to watch, says Deveney.
Jonas Valanciunas is no longer an every-night starter for the Raptors, but he’s been very productive in a reduced role for the team and there are no plans to move him, sources tell Deveney.
Robin Lopez (Bulls) and Dewayne Dedmon (Hawks) are unlikely to net first-round picks on the trade market, but they could be decent rental options for teams seeking depth up front, Deveney writes.

Atlantic Notes: LeVert, Valanciunas, Nets Prospects, Redick

October 22nd, 2018 at 8:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Caris LeVert‘s impressive early-season performances could make the Nets a more attractive free agent destination, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer points out. The Nets guard, who is averaging 24.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 4.0 APG, is a versatile talent who can mesh with anyone because of his passing, cutting and spot-up shooting, O’Connor continues. Brooklyn’s front office looks smart for taking LeVert off the table in trade discussions with the Timberwolves for Jimmy Butler, O’Connor adds.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

There hasn’t been any grumbling from Raptors players who have seen their minutes reduced, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun reports. Jonas Valanciunas, Norman Powell and Pascal Siakam, among others, will see their playing time fluctuate depending on the opponent. “We are sharing the minutes. We don’t know what matchups are going to come to us,” Valanciunas told Wolstat. “We have versatility. Just have different things for different matchups. We have different lineups, different people going at some different players.”
Nets draft-and-stash prospects Aleksandar Vezenkov and Isaia Cordinier are off to good start overseas, according to a NetsDaily.com post. Vezenkov, a 6’9” forward has played three Euroleague games for Olympiacos and is averaging 9.7 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 17.0 MPG. Cordinier, a 6’5” shooting guard who plays in the French League, returned to action on Friday after missing last season with knee tendinitis. It’s uncertain whether they’ll pursue NBA careers next season. Another draft-and-stash player, Juan Pablo Vaulet, was sent home by his Argentine team for undisclosed reasons.
Sixers guard J.J. Redick believes the Magic made a smart move by trading him to the Bucks five years ago, Josh Robbins of The Athletic reports. Redick was heading into unrestricted free agency at the time but would have liked to finish out that season with Orlando. He would have considered a long-term deal with the Magic that summer. Orlando acquired forward Tobias Harris and two other players in the deal. “The trade for Tobias was definitely in Orlando’s favor,” Redick told Robbins. “You get a guy who’s going to get you 18 [points] and 8 [rebounds] at 22, or whatever age Tobias was at the time. … Things obviously didn’t turn out great for them subsequently, but I think they made the right call.”

Atlantic Notes: Nets’ Plan, Valanciunas, Sixers GM Search, Fizdale

August 28th, 2018 at 8:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nets have hit a crossroads, even though they’ll have ample salary-cap space to pursue at least two top-level free agents next summer, Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily.com opines. While the franchise’s reputation has improved and it plays in a top market, improved play on the court is essential to attract those types of players, Puccio continues. Another eight-game improvement, for example, probably wouldn’t move the needle for free agents like Kawhi Leonard and Kyrie Irving. If the Nets reach the midway point next season and aren’t in playoff contention, they may be faced with the difficult decision of moving assets for an All-Star level player or tanking in order to move into the lottery, Puccio adds.

We have more from around the Atlantic Division:

Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas said the DeMar DeRozan trade to the Spurs shows the fickleness within the business, as Lithuanian reporter Donatas Urbonas tweets. “Maybe now while I’m talking all the papers are set and I’m moving to Detroit. You just never know in this business. DeMar was really great, loyal player. But I think you can’t blame anybody.” Valanciunas will return to Toronto on September 15 to prepare for training camp, Urbonas adds in another tweet.
The Sixers should have spent more time this summer pursuing young up-and-comers in executive roles around the league, rather than focusing on ‘elite GMs,’ Derek Bodner of The Athletic argues. Philadelphia’s GM search has dragged on for 11 weeks and now it reportedly will focus on candidates further down in their current team’s organizational chart. The Sixers should have been vetting those types of candidates much earlier, Bodner adds.
Hiring David Fizdale as head coach was the right move for the Knicks, Spencer Davies of Basketball Insiders opines. His motivational skills and reputation as a player’s coach will help turn the franchise around, Davies continues. His commitment to building relationships with his players was reinforced by his recent trip to Latvia to visit his injured star, Kristaps Porzingis.

Raptors Not Sold On Ibaka/Valanciunas Pairing

June 28th, 2018 at 2:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Neither Jonas Valanciunas nor Serge Ibaka came off the bench for the Raptors once during the 2017/18 season, with Ibaka serving as the club’s full-time starting four while Valaciunas started at the five. However, the Raptors still aren’t sold on the Valanciunas/Ibaka pairing in their frontcourt, since they believe both players are most effective as centers, team sources tell Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.

Lewenberg reiterates what has been reported several times since the end of the season, indicating that no one on the Raptors’ roster is untouchable in trade talks this offseason. So both Ibaka and Valanciunas could find themselves on the block in the coming days or weeks.

Of the two, the Raptors would likely prefer to move on from Ibaka, who has the more expensive contract and is coming off a disappointing postseason. Ibaka, who struggled with consistency from beyond the arc and on the defensive end, will earn $21.67MM in 2018/19 and $23.27MM in 2019/20.

Valanciunas, on the other hand, was once considered the Raptors’ most obvious trade candidate, but he expanded his game in 2017/18, playing improved defense and even flashing a three-point shot — the veteran center knocked down 30 threes last year after having made one in his first five seasons. He’s also slightly more affordable, with a $16.54MM cap hit in 2018/19 and a $17.62MM player option for 2019/20.

While there’s no guarantee that either player is traded this summer, the Raptors will be looking to cut costs somewhere in order to re-sign Fred VanVleet without going deep into luxury-tax territory, and youngsters Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl could be ready to handle more minutes up front.

Ibaka and Valanciunas are the third- and fourth-highest-paid players on the roster, making them prime trade candidates if Toronto is reluctant to move star guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. Norman Powell and C.J. Miles could also be trade chips.

Eastern Notes: Raptors, Gilgeous-Alexander, Winslow

June 21st, 2018 at 5:36pm CST by Luke Adams

While we’ve heard a couple times already this offseason that the Raptors are open for business and won’t make anyone on their roster untouchable in trade talks, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca notes that the team may be especially focused on shaking up the “top end of its top-heavy roster.”

That could mean that a player like DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, Jonas Valanciunas, or Serge Ibaka is on the move in the coming days or weeks, since those four players are on track to earn nearly $100MM in 2018/19. For what it’s worth, one source told Grange that he believes at least one of the Raptors’ big – or “medium” – three won’t be back next season, referring to Lowry, DeRozan, and Ibaka.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference as we wait for the 2018 NBA draft to get underway:

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst suggests that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t interested in playing for the Cavaliers, reporting that Gilgeous-Alexander refused to work out for Cleveland and made a point to tell the team he didn’t want to be there (Twitter link). The Kentucky point guard is considered a candidate to come off the board in the top 10.
The Heat, who have explored the possibility of trading back into the draft, have made Justise Winslow available in their discussions, tweets Jake Fischer of SI.com. Like the Raptors, the Heat have suggested no one on their roster will be off-limits this summer, so that doesn’t come as a real surprise.
The Pistons are making a “hard push” to hire Bucks assistant Sean Sweeney for Dwane Casey‘s new staff in Detroit, league sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). Stein notes that Sweeney has worked as closely with Giannis Antetokounmpo as any coach in Milwaukee.

Raptors Notes: Nurse, Casey, Messina, Valanciunas

June 13th, 2018 at 7:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

Assembling a staff will be the first priority for Nick Nurse, who was officially hired as the Raptors’ new head coach earlier today, writes Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. With many of Dwane Casey’s assistants possibly following him to Detroit, Nurse, an assistant in Toronto for the past five years, may have to build his staff from scratch.

One possibility, according to Wolstat, is Nate Bjorkgren, a longtime friend who worked on Nurse’s staff at Iowa in the G League. Bjorkgren landed a job as an advance scout with the Raptors last fall after being let go when Earl Watson was fired in Phoenix. Wolstat also cites a report out of Italy that Spanish National team head coach Sergio Scariolo and former German National Team head coach Andrea Trinchieri are being considered. Nurse was a successful coach in Europe for 12 years before coming to the United States.

Current Raptors assistant Rex Kalamian isn’t expected to remain on staff, according to Wolstat, and may take a job with the Clippers if he doesn’t go to the Pistons.

There’s more tonight out of Toronto:

The relationship between Nurse and Casey became severely strained after the Raptors were bounced from the playoffs, according to Dave Feschuk of The Toronto Star, with a source telling Feschuk there’s “no love lost between ’em.” Casey gave Nurse his first NBA opportunity, hiring him out of the G League in 2013. Feschuk also questions whether it was the right choice to promote one of Casey’s assistants when fellow finalist Ettore Messina could have provided a new direction for the organization.
The Raptors’ front office was divided between Nurse and Messina over the weekend, tweets Josh Lewenburg of TSN Sports. Messina, an assistant with the Spurs, reportedly performed well in both interviews.
The decision to hire Nurse means center Jonas Valanciunas is unlikely to be traded, relays Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Valanciunas worked frequently with Nurse during the season to try to develop a perimeter game, and that effort figures to expand now that Nurse is in charge.
The decision to replace Casey indicates that team president Masai Ujiri is feeling pressure to make changes, Deveney adds in the same piece. Ujiri’s job remains safe, but his preference to avoid major moves in the past hasn’t resulted in playoff success.

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Atkinson, Sixers, Celtics, Sullivan

June 6th, 2018 at 5:08pm CST by clarkcrum

After a record-breaking regular season, the Raptors once again laid an egg in the postseason, leading to the firing of Coach of the Year candidate Dwane Casey. Now, barring any trades, the team is faced with a potential luxury tax issue with a roster that cannot seem to compete in the weaker Eastern Conference come playoff time.

Eric Koreen of The Athletic takes an in-depth look at the luxury tax concerns for Toronto, focusing on who the Raptors could afford to surrender in order to get under the tax threshold while also remaining competitive.

Koreen opines that in a perfect world, the Raptors would probably love to unload one or both of the contracts of Serge Ibaka and Norman Powell, who are scheduled to make over $21.6MM and $9.3MM next season, respectively.

More realistically, the club may decide to let young guard Fred VanVleet sign somewhere else instead of matching what is expected to be an offer in the $7.5MM per season range. Koreen also explores the possibility of moving on from big man Jonas Valanciunas or the player the Raptors used their MLE on last summer – C.J. Miles.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Nets have been relatively uncompetitive for the last three seasons, but head coach Kenny Atkinson expects significant growth next season, reports Brian Lewis of the New York Post. The Nets have limited cap space and traded away their own first-round pick in this month’s NBA Draft, so Atkinson will need to rely on his reputed prowess as a player developer if the Nets hope to show meaningful improvement.
Regardless of whether or not the Sixers succeed in signing a superstar free agent this offseason, the team will need to make sure to also sign both a guard with long-range shooting ability who is capable of guarding opposing point guards (e.g. Patrick Beverley) and a backup center capable of protecting the rim when Joel Embiid isn’t on the court, per David Murphy of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Celtics‘ first selection in the upcoming draft, barring a trade, isn’t until pick No. 27, but according to A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston, the team can still add some quality wing depth with versatile players such as Gary Trent Jr. or Josh Okogie, both of whom are likely to be available towards the end of the first round.
Per Ian Begley of ESPN, former Clippers’ assistant coach Pat Sullivan will join the Knicks staff as an assistant for new head coach David Fizdale. Sullivan, a New Jersey native, worked as an assistant coach for the Pistons when Knicks’ GM Scott Perry was an executive with the team.