Toronto Raptors: Grading The Offseason
JV Gets Signed To Varsity
For those of you thinking that $64 million over four years is a hefty sum to pay out to a center who was regularly benched in fourth quarters due to his defensive flaws, you couldn’t be more wrong. This is the way the new NBA works with a rapidly rising salary cap, and the Raptors were incredibly smart to re-sign him now.
For starters, the extension doesn’t kick in until the 2016-17 season, so Toronto has essentially locked him down for the next five seasons. For another thing, Valanciunas would’ve been eligible for a truly massive extension next summer in the $20 million+ range. In that context, bringing him back for $16 million a season is a pretty preferable option.
Valanciunas deal was more surprising to me. Was a real candidate to get the max next summer given all the cap room out there.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) August 25, 2015
True enough, Valanciunas needs to improve defensively to become an actual rim protector. But once the coaching staff finally unleashes him, his efficient production (57.6 percent shooting last year) in limited minutes should take the giant leap fans have been waiting for.
This 23-year-old is clearly a double-double machine in the making, as shown by his 12.0 points and 8.7 rebounds in just 26.2 minutes per game last season. JV still has to earn Dwane Casey’s full trust, but he’s quite clearly earned the trust of the front office. It’s only a matter of time before he breaks out, and Ujiri was smart to lock him in for the long-term now.
Grade: A-
Next: Overall