The Raptors’ most useful trade chip is Jonas Valanciunas. What’s he worth, and should he be gone at all?
It goes against my grain to think about Toronto Raptors players as trade assets. However, there’s little sense in allowing warm and fuzzy feelings to creep into one’s consideration. The goal of the franchise is an NBA championship.
Thus we need to mull over the value of Jonas Valanciunas as a trade chip. He has this season and next to run on a reasonable contract averaging $16 million, before a final year on a player option. Even in this era of inflated NBA salaries, $16 M can return a lot of value.
JV is ranked as the #80 player in the league according to Sports Illustrated’s annual list, which is respectable. However, he was at #62 a year ago. That’s hardly the career arc of a superstar in the making.
Our Lithuanian centre is entering his sixth season after being selected as the #5 pick in the 2011 draft, then spending another year in Europe for contractual reasons.
In sales, one learns to turn the features of one’s product (or service) into customer benefits. Since we’re pitching JV to the NBA’s 29 other teams, let’s treat him as a product.
Jonas Valanciunas – for sale
| DATA POINT | FEATURE | BENEFIT |
|---|---|---|
| Age: 25 | - relative youth | - should be entering prime of career |
| Experience: 6 seasons, inc. 357 games as starting center | - veteran player; has played 80+ games 3 times | - used to "big moments"; has played 33 playoff games |
| Career averages of 11.5 pts & 8.5 rebs per game | - consistent productivity | - reliable players are a coach's friend |
| 81.1% FT shooter | - solid stroke; also useful for mid-range shots | - opponents pay when they foul him |
| 1.4 turnovers, 3.5 fouls PG | - not turnover- or foul-prone | - doesn't take himself off the floor with sloppy play |
So why would the Raptors want to get rid of Jonas? He stacks up as a solid two-way contributor with a ton of upside (yes, even after 6 seasons).
Simple – he was born 10 years too late. His style of play is considered outmoded today. This is the era of pace & space, of 3-balls raining down from every corner of the court. Dumping the ball inside to a big man who’s then expected to muscle his way to the hoop isn’t considered an efficient way to run an offense.
I believe the issue is less about 3-point shooting, and more about a lack of talent at the center position. If you saw Kareem Abdul-Jabbar draining one sky hook after another, you wouldn’t doubt how much efficiency a high-scoring center can provide an offense. More recently, Shaquille O’Neal overpowered teams inside on his way to the Hall of Fame.
The Raptors have 2 centers, Lucas Nogueira and Jakob Poeltl, who could be stopgaps. There are also those who believe if anyone should play center, it’s Serge Ibaka. I’d like to see Serge and Jonas successfully working the floor together, but that may not be in the cards. A full training camp should help clarify.
OK – now what?
JV is a useful player who might also be an exceptional trade chip – but not before the season. The time to move him is prior to the trade deadline. A contending team whose management decides (or is compelled to decide, due to injury) to buttress its stable of big men would be an appropriate trade partner.
Since there’s no way to know which team that might be, I’m refraining from the creation of a Trade Proposal. However, should we get word of a training camp injury to someone like Utah’s Rudy Gobert or Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns, I’ll spring into keyboard action.
I also could get energetic if either Lucas or Jakob make major strides. At that point, JV will clearly be the odd man out.
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