Jonas Valanciunas: extension candidate or future RFA for the Toronto Raptors?
By Graeme Klayh
We are in the period of contract extensions for the rookies of 2012. Teams have until the October 31st to offer an early extension to their players currently on a rookie scale contract.
The Toronto Raptors have two players eligible for contract extensions that could last up to five years (but more than likely less).
Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas will be in line for raises after next season. It is time for GM Masai Ujiri to decide if he should lock them up before the beginning of this season, or wait until next summer to let them become restricted free agents.
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Ross isn’t as complicated as Valanciunas because his play has been inconsistent. A team may offer him big money as an RFA next summer, but that completely relies on his play this season. Bryan Colangelo gambled on DeMar DeRozan‘s four year/ $40 million contract in 2012 and it has paid off handsomely. Could Ujiri do the same for Terrence Ross? Probably, yes.
The more complicated piece is Valanciunas (career 10.9 ppg and 8.0 rpg). He is in line for a massive payday. If Aron Baynes (career 4.8 ppg and 3.6 rpg) can garner a three years/ $20 million contract, I am afraid Valanciunas would be well sought after during free agency. In fact, even the defensive silhouette Enes Kanter got $70 million for four years.
The question for Ujiri is this: should the Raptors give Valanciunas an extension now, or wait until RFA to gauge his value on the market. Grantland’s Zach Lowe highlights the extension in his article here.
"Valanciunas is a lock to demand a max-level extension. Large humans get paid – Zach Lowe"
There are two options.
If Ujiri was to give Valanciunas an extension this summer, the max would be $21 million per year starting in the 2016/17 season. With the cap raising to a projected $89.5 million, that contract would account for 23.5% of the team’s soft cap (and possibly only 19% in 2017-2018). The main problem is that a significant contract for Valanciunas would thin Toronto’s pockets when an important free agency class arrives on the market next summer.
The other option is to wait for restricted free agency and let the market decide what he is worth. Valanciunas would likely receive multiple high-end offer sheets from different teams. Luckily, the Raptors can match any of them.
The key with this option is that Toronto holds Valanciunas’ bird rights, so only $11 million of his contract would contribute to the cap next summer, no matter the scale. This would be important for signing a major free agent if one should come the Raptors’ way.
I believe it is in the best interest of Ujiri to let Valanciunas hit restricted free agency next summer. In order to be flexible, Toronto will need all the cap money it can scrape together.
Jonas Valanciunas averaged 1.2 blocks in 26.2 minutes a game in 2014-2015 Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The only smart contract the team could offer Valanciunas this summer would be below market value. Valanciunas and his agent may not know his exact value, but they know it isn’t below eight figures.
It is up to Valanciunas to dictate the size of his contract with his play on the court. We consistently see him underused offensively and overextended defensively. My hope for this season is that we see Valanciunas blossom on both ends with the team’s reconfigured game plan.
Let the man earn his contract that way, rather than paying for his size now.