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Toronto Raptors: Ranking every contract from best to worst

By Vimal Sivakumar

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA - 2017/09/22: The entrance of the Air Canada Centre. There is sunlight reflecting from the glass. The famous place will be renamed starting on January 2018. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA - 2017/09/22: The entrance of the Air Canada Centre. There is sunlight reflecting from the glass. The famous place will be renamed starting on January 2018. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – APRIL 14: John Wall
TORONTO, ON – APRIL 14: John Wall /

2. Jonas Valanciunas

Contract: 1 year + 1 (Player Option) — $16.5M (18/19), $17.6M (19/20)

According to stats.nba.com, Jonas Valanciunas played the 4th most minutes on the team this regular season.

That said, even though his minutes dipped slightly since Ibaka joined the team, from 25.9 MPG in 2015/16 to 22.4 MPG in 2017/18 (via stats.nba.com), Valanciunas maintained relatively consistent regular season numbers, going from 12.8 points and 9.1 rebounds in 15/16 to 12.7 points and 8.6 rebounds this year.

Moreover, Valanciunas represents an even more valuable contract for this team, particularly judging by his playoff performance. While Valanciunas might not always have a significant role, he was relied on heavily this postseason and he responded accordingly.

Statistically, among Toronto Raptors players with at least eight minutes per game, Valanciunas ranked as follows in the 2017/18 playoffs (according to stats.nba.com):

Effectively, Jonas Valanciunas was one of Toronto’s top playoff performers this past season and, as the 72nd highest paid player in the NBA, he showed great postseason value for this team. However, even with all that value throughout this season, there are a few reasons Valanciunas has taken the 2nd spot on this list.

Why below Anunoby

Youth, cost and control were the reasons Valanciunas missed out on being the team’s top contract. OG Anunoby is six years younger than Valanciunas and costs the Toronto Raptors roughly $15 million dollars less for each of the next two seasons.

Moreover, Anunoby has one extra year of team control on his deal. Valanciunas’ deal expires in 2020 while OG’s contract stretches to 2021.

Regardless, Valanciunas still provides a strong combination of financial value and statistical production. This was illustrated over the last four postseasons, where he produced no less than 11.2 points and 6.7 rebounds while playing behind DeRozan and Lowry. Appropriately, for his level of production as a fourth option in Toronto, he has earned this spot as the team’s second best contract, especially if he maintains this level of postseason production.

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