Jonas Valanciunas Articles - Page 6

The Toronto Raptors are one of the best teams in the NBA early on in the 2018-19 season. But there are cracks in the armor starting to show. While the Raptors haven’t had any trouble scoring the ball, it’s their defense where the issues rest. Kyle Lowry and Kawhi Leonard have been marvelous, but what has happened to Jonas […]

The Toronto Raptors have no apparent plans to put big man Jonas Valanciunas on the trade block, according to Sean Deveney of Sporting News. Jonas Valanciunas is making $16.5 million this season and has a player-option worth $17.6 million for the 2019-20 season. Through six games this season, Valanciunas is averaging 12.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists […]

Most franchises have been busy stockpiling their teams with talent and assets, although the NBA arms race will near a brief end as teams try to already finalize their roster spots for training camp. Most franchises have been busy stockpiling their teams with talent and assets, although the NBA arms race will near a brief […]

Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas will not be attending the FIBA qualifiers this year. Instead, he will be returning to Toronto to get a head start in training camp, along with other Raptors. Lithuanian basketball journalist Donatas Urbonas broke the news via Twitter. Valanciunas is heading back to Toronto on Sep 15. Raptors asked him to […]

Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas has had most of the offseason to process the change of direction by the front office, as DeMar DeRozan in a Raptors uniform is no longer a reality. Yet the 7-footer won’t place blame on either side, despite the new San Antonio Spurs star’s claims that he was blindsided by […]

The Toronto Raptors added a familiar face to their roster when they signed center Greg Monroe to a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum. That face is especially familiar for starter Jonas Valanciunas, who went toe-to-toe with the lefty during the 2017 playoffs, including coming face-to-face during an on-court altercation. Monroe hasn’t forgotten the incident, […]

Oklahoma City Thunder big man Steven Adams has a book out right now, and based on the excerpts that have already been released, one could tell that it’s packed with tasty details and interesting info about the life Adams on and off the court. Among those passages is an interesting and hilarious story by Adams […]

The Toronto Raptors are entertaining the idea of splitting up their frontcourt tandem of Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. Even after a season and a half, the Raptors are not sold on the Ibaka-Valanciunas pairing, according to team sources, believing both are better suited playing centre at this […]

News broke back in May that superstar power forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves are “not in a good place internally.” This was reported by ESPN’s Zach Lowe on The Lowe Post. His colleague Brian Windhorst asked Lowe to share his thoughts on Towns and the Timberwolves. Here is what Lowe said via Hoops Hype’s […]

The Toronto Raptors will see a slew of moves this offseason after former head coach Dwane Casey was sacked after getting swept out of the playoffs, allowing for the Nick Nurse regime to begin. Nurse’s post is expected to be just the first of transactions the team makes in the summer, as this core has […]

It is no secret that the Toronto Raptors could potentially make some substantial changes to their roster. As a result, center Jonas Valanciunas has arrived at the forefront of trade rumors given new head coach Nick Nurse’s affinity for running small-ball. However, that does not seem to be the case. According to Sean Deveney of […]

It’s hard to imagine that a NBA team with the best record in its conference is not considered the favorite to go to the Finals. Unfortunately, this is the reality for the Toronto Raptors. Even though they have secured the number one spot in the East for the first time in franchise history, their bid for […]

Jonas Valanciunas, they said, was a dinosaur. And not in the hokey he’s on the Toronto Raptors sense of the word, either. Players of his ilk were supposed to be extinct; relegated to museums and the end of the bench during fourth quarters. A center who can’t stretch the floor or anchor a defense isn’t […]

The game on Sunday between the Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors quickly turned into a hotly contested one. At the 1:46 mark of the second quarter, Julius Randle and Jonas Valanciunas had to be separated following a heated exchange and some trash-talking. It all started on the previous play when the Lakers forward hit […]

After DeMar DeRozan scored a franchise-best 52 points against the Milwaukee Bucks in their first game of 2018, Raptors big man Jonas Valanciunas approached the man of the night and posed behind him holding a white sheet of paper that said “52” adding a smile and a thumb up. The moment was hilarious, as everyone in the […]

DeMar DeRozan had a career night on Monday as he welcomed the new year with a career-high 52 points, en route to a 131-127 win by the Toronto Raptors over the Milwaukee Bucks. The three-time All-Star guard turned a lot of heads with his impressive performance, even breaking the Raptors’ record for most point by […]

During the second quarter of last night’s 124-107 win for the Oklahoma City Thunder over the Toronto Raptors, Thunder reigning MVP point guard Russell Westbrook and Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas got into a minor scuffle with one another. Thunder star forward Carmelo Anthony, who was on the bench at the time, was seen laying down on […]

Heading into Wednesday’s matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Toronto Raptors, many were intrigued to see both teams compete against each another especially being top contenders in their respective conferences. It did not take long for it to be a hotly contested one, as a scuffle happened in the second quarter. It involved Russell […]

The Ball family has not been receiving a lot of good words over the past few months, especially following the controversial statements LaVar Ball has made, and the much talked about the arrest of LiAngelo Ball in China for shoplifting. However, that changed recently, as Jonas Valanciunas of the Toronto Raptors offered his help to […]

Recent changes like the firing of head coach David Fizdale could force the Memphis Grizzlies to make consequent ones in the following weeks. Among them, center Marc Gasol, who recently expressed his displeasure with warming the bench as his team fell to the Brooklyn Nets 98-88 on Sunday night. Gasol’s name could come off the […]

When it comes to centers, Jonas Valanciunas of the Toronto Raptors and DeMarcus Cousins of the New Orleans Pelicans, are two big men that have had their fair share of history on the court. According to Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun, Valanciunas recently opened up about Cousins’ trash-talking but downplayed any rivalry speculations. “I […]

New Orleans Pelicans All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins has become one of the most talented all-around big men in the league. Cousins put that on display on Thursday night against the Toronto Raptors as he crossed over Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas and nailed a 3-pointer. Boogie’s pump fake was just too much to handle 😂 pic.twitter.com/xWvDnuy2b2 […]

The Toronto Raptors will finally have their ideal starting frontcourt of Jonas Valanciunas and Serge Ibaka back in action for their game against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night. JV/Ibaka back tonight. Will be fascinating to see how Casey manages lineups. Even in 10man rotation, 2 of Siakam/Bebe/FVV/OG/Poeltl left out — Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) November […]

The Toronto Raptors will be without their starting frontcourt of Jonas Valanciunas and Serge Ibaka for their visit to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. Word from Portland is the Raptors will be without Serge Ibaka (swelling in his right knee) and Jonas Valanciunas (left ankle sprain) tonight — Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) October 30, […]

The Toronto Raptors easily prevailed over the Philadelphia 76ers, 128-94, Saturday night. The home team was carried by DeMar DeRozan who scored 30 huge points for Toronto, but they also had to witness starting center Jonas Valanciunas leave the game early. https://twitter.com/RaptorsMR/status/921904648264359936 Valanciunas had an awkward landing on Dario Saric’s foot in one rebound play, […]

The NBA regular season is upon us. What this means is that we’re done trying to stomach watching practice-squad quality players litter the floor during preseason games. We’re also about to see the best of the best duke it out for NBA supremacy. But let’s not forget that the intrigue isn’t solely on the basketball […]

Through much of the preseason, veteran big man Jonas Valanciunas has been a major bright spot for the Toronto Raptors with his play on the court. It has even led to head coach Dwane Casey to continually praise the 25-year-old for the type of performances he has been able to put together. Despite the trade […]

Throughout his five-year NBA career so far, Jonas Valanciunas has established himself as one of the better centers in the league. His ability to score in different ways, as well as effectively defend his counterparts, have allowed him to become the Toronto Raptors’ undisputed starter. However, he has not been known to be a decent […]

Over the last several seasons, big man Jonas Valanciunas has become a major part of the puzzle for the Toronto Raptors. Heading into his sixth season in the league, head coach Dwane Casey has continued to voice praise toward Valanciunas play over training camp and the first few games of the preseason, according to Josh […]

After being swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Toronto Raptors kept their core together but traded DeMarre Caroll to the Brooklyn Nets. As the Raptors acquired CJ Miles for Cory Joseph, he is expected to be the team’s new starting small forward, but Norman Powell should still be a key […]

Following their huge win against Italy on Sunday in the EuroBasket tournament, the Lithuanian national team coach Jonas Kazlauskas and star center Jonas Valanciunas were at the podium during the post-game press conference. They were both asked questions by some members of the media about their performance, but what caught the attention of many was […]

On Sunday, two of the best European big man in the NBA today faced off during the match between Latvia and Lithuania, as part of their build up for the EuroBasket 2017. New York Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis and Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas had the spotlight on them throughout the match, as they were […]

Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas has made his summer yet another basketball endeavor as part of the Lithuanian national team and his participation proved key during Wednesday’s friendly game against Croatia. The big man was part of a warmup series prior to EuroBasket 2017, missing a pair of key free throws as Croatia’s Dario Saric […]

Toronto Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas arrived to the Lithuanian national team practice this morning in nothing less than a beat-up 90s Audi four-door automobile. @JValanciunas arrived at the national team practice camp with the 90s Audi 😅😅😅@Sportando @SportsCenter @Eurohoopsnet @EurobasketNews pic.twitter.com/5J16mik4ci — Žygimantas Vingelis (@vingelis) July 21, 2017 While we’re still trying to figure out […]

The Toronto Raptors have been trying to stay active in their pursuit of dethroning the Cleveland Cavaliers in the East. The organization traded for forwards Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker last season, and re-signed Ibaka to a massive deal this summer. In addition to that, they added C.J. Miles this offseason. While the moves have not helped […]

The Toronto Raptors might have signed big time free agents in Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka, as well as dealt other parts in order to re-mold their talent into a different team, but they have yet to trade one of the most important cogs of that conversion, center Jonas Valanciunas. The organization reportedly exhausted every […]

The Toronto Raptors have been active through the first few days of free agency that has led to him to successfully retaining their key core players in All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry and forward Serge Ibaka. However, Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports is reporting that the Raptors are looking into possibly moving veteran big man […]

Jonas Valanciunas has been producing fairly consistent for the Toronto Raptors over the last four years, but that trend might soon have an effect for worse on the part of the seven-footer. The potential is there for Valanciunas, but his numbers have got to improve and it isn’t helping that his minutes are on a […]

The Toronto Raptors have faced their share of struggles throughout the postseason — going down 2-1 to the sixth-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the first round and now in the hole for one game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Head coach Dwane Casey took out center Jonas Valanciunas midway through the series […]