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 while shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc in roughly 19 minutes of game action. He has started three games and come off the bench in the other three.

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Raptors head coach Nick Nurse and Valanciunas have a strong relationship, as the two spent hours working on improving Valanciunas’s 3-point shot last season when Nurse was an assistant coach. The early returns are positive, as Valanciunas has been shooting with confidence from 3-point range.

Toronto is off to a 6-0 start and, with superstar small forward Kawhi Leonard in the mix, the Raptors have a great chance to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.

There was talk in the summer the Raptors weren't sold on the Jonas Valanciunas-Serge Ibaka frontcourt pairing, which explains why the two rarely play with one another now that Nurse is in charge. As a coach in Britain where he made a name for himself, Nurse was high on the uptempo style of basketball and a willingness to shoot 3-pointers. He wants floor spacing on the court at all times so Leonard and point guard Kyle Lowry have driving lanes to attack.