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Jonas Valanciunas News & Rumors

The Jonas Valanciunas hype machine can't stop and won't stop
May 7
National Post
 
"It is possible that expectations might be getting a little out of hand for the arrival of Jonas Valanciunas. The fifth pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, who turns 20 on Sunday, is the greatest hope for a long-term turnaround for the Toronto Raptors. After sitting through rather hopeless seasons of 22 and 23 wins, everybody associated with the team is setting the bar at playoff berth next year. The arrival of Valanciunas is supposed to be a key reason why. A problem: Rookies rarely blossom right away, especially rookie big men. (Some exceptions, to varying degrees: Tim Duncan, Amar'e Stoudemire and Pau Gasol.) Beyond Gasol, it has proven very difficult for European big men to get acclimated"
Valanciunas to play in NBA this season?
December 4
ESPN.com
 
"The Toronto Raptors drafted Jonas Valanciunas with the No. 5 pick in the 2011 NBA draft knowing it would be at least a year before he came to the NBA. But a source close to the team told ESPN.com on Saturday that there's a small chance they might be able to get him this season. The source said that the team reached out to Valanciunas' agent over the weekend to gauge the center's interest in joining the Raptors in 2011-12. If Valanciunas has interest, the Toronto would have to work out a buyout with his team in Lithuania, Lietuvos Rytas."
Lithuania hot for Raptors' 'Big V'
August 10
Toronto Sun
 
"Apparently, Raptors' draft pick Jonas Valanciunas' 26 point performance in a 94-73 victory over the Czech Republic on Saturday was a Lithuanian national team record for points scored in a senior team debut. Valanciunas was MVP as Lithuania took the gold at the recent FIBA Under-19 world championship, but continued his fine play against more seasoned competition, scoring with a variety of dunks and hook shots. Valanciunas added 11 rebounds and hit all eight of his free throws. "I was more nervous than usually … (but) there wasn't a moment that I thought of the statistics, I just went on the court and showed what I can do," Valanciunas told reporters afterwards."
Valanciunas dominates at U19 tournament
July 13
TSN.ca
 columnist Tim Chisholm
"So Jonas Valanciunas dominated the U19 FIBA Championships, winning gold and the MVP award with 23-14-3 averages and people are surprised? He similarly dominated the U18 tournament last year, won the MVP then, too, and looked just unchallenged as Lithuania waltzed to the gold medal after a week of play. As satisfying as it must have been for Valanciunas' supporters (and as eye-opening as it must have been for Valanciunas' detractors) to see him obliterate his overmatched foes, there wasn't really a lot to learn about Valanciunas that those who have seen him play didn't already know. What this tournament, and his exceptional play during it, might allow for, however, is a noteworthy role with"
Raptors top pick Jonas Valanciunas earns MVP honors at FIBA U19 tournament
July 11
Toronto Sun
 
"Now that Jonas Valanciunas has concluded a stellar FIBA U19 tournament by leading Lithuania to gold the temptation is to go over the top in praising the prospect. You know, the way most basketball fans in this country went totally nuts when they found out the Raptors had rolled the dice on another big man of non-North American descent. But just as that draft night reaction was ridiculous — most Valanciunas detractors had never even seen the man play — so too would be going overboard based on his play against competition that was, with apologies to those participating, not overly impressive. The Americans had a hard time getting their top prospects over — though Florida centre Patric Young"
Raptors draft pick sharp against U.S.
June 29
Toronto Sun
 
"Many Raptors fans were in hysterics when Jonas Valanciunas' name was called at the NBA Draft last Thursday because they had never seen him play. A whole bunch of them got their first look at the big Lithuanian on Tuesday afternoon and it was hard not to be impressed, even if he wasn't exactly going up against Wilt Chamberlain or Bill Russell. Valanciunas was the best player on the floor as Lithuania humiliated the United States 108-75 in a tuneup for the FIBA under-19 championship, which gets underway on Thursday in Latvia. The fifth overall selection by the Raptors imposed his will on the smaller Americans, compiling a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds, along with two blocks and a"
Raptors top pick Valanciunas eager to work on defensive skills
June 25
Toronto Star
 
"Jonas Valanciunas speaks and somewhere, Dwane Casey smiles. The newest Raptor hit town Friday a day after being taken fifth overall in the NBA draft and when asked to explain his game, he spoke words that will make coach Casey sit up and take notice. "I like pick and roll, I like working on the defence, I like blocked shots, rebounds," said Valanciunas, echoing the wish list of the new Raptors coach."
Raptors buy out Big V's Euro contract
June 25
Toronto Sun
 
"Bryan Colangelo still had a smile on his face 17 hours and very little sleep after selecting Jonas Valanciunas fifth overall in the NBA draft. A few hours later that smile got even bigger when the one potentially big obstacle in Valanciunas' path to the NBA, a buyout with his European club Lietuvos Rytas, was cleared. "I can confirm the buyout is in place," Colangelo said a few hours after he looked on like a proud parent as Valanciunas was introduced to the Toronto media. The 7-foot Lithuanian centre was brought to the Air Canada Centre straight from the NBA draft headquarters in Newark, N.J. The team presented him with his No. 17 jersey — the first genuine smile one onlooker said he had"
Raptors' Davis gives Big V advice
June 25
Toronto Sun
 
"Raptors power forward Ed Davis and the Raptors' 2011 first-round pick, Jonas Valanciunas, have similar tasks ahead of them. Both are promising NBA players, Davis a little further along that path based on the season under his belt, but both require a bit of a body overhaul. Valanciunas will spend the next year with his Lithuanian professional team adding some mass to the 240 pounds that is stretched over his 7-foot frame. Ask the Lithuanian what he needs to work on and it becomes quite clear that beefing up is high on his list followed closely by his low post game and his shot. Davis has already begun his own transformation, dropping unnecessary body fat and adding on about five or six"
Raptors will be patient with Valanciunas
June 24
Toronto Sun
 
"Bryan Colangelo is willing to be patient. He is clearly not concerned with appearances or outside opinions. The man who seems to be continually defending himself for selecting Andrea Bargnani first overall even five years after the fact, put himself right back in the crosshairs of the Don Cherry Euro-hating crowd by taking Lithuanian big man Jonas Valanciunas with the fifth overall pick. Valanciunas comes with a huge red flag in that potential buyout problems with his team in Europe could mean it will be a year or even two before he can join the team. Colangelo admitted in the days leading up to the draft that may taint the player on some team's eyes, but not necessarily the Raptors. "A"
A gutsy Colangelo pick
June 24
Toronto Sun
 
"Say this about Bryan Colangelo, no one will ever accuse him of lacking guts. On Thursday night at the NBA Draft, the Raptors' general manager eschewed local cries for the likes of Brandon Knight, Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo and instead elected to take young, Lithuanian big man Jonas Valanciunas. Though those in the know are aware Valanciunas was in the mix as high as the second selection and is seen as a potential franchise big man in the mold of Pau Gasol, selecting another European high in the lottery after two other European disasters by previous management and his own backing of the enigma that is Andrea Bargnani was a bold move, to say the least. This one simply has to work out"
Top draft pick worth the wait, Raptors say
June 24
Toronto Star
 
"The promise was too much to pass up, the skills too diverse to ignore, and if takes a year for the Raptors to find out exactly what they got in the NBA draft then they are more than willing to wait. In a bold move more for the future than any he's ever made, president and general manager Bryan Colangelo took 19-year-old Lithuanian centre Jonas Valanciunas with the fifth pick on Thursday night. The returns may not be immediate: Valanciunas may not be able to get out of his contract with the Lithuanian club team Rytas Vilnius for another year. "I can tell you that without question we have found a combination of the best talent and the best fit for this team," said Colangelo. "This young man"
Colangelo gambles as Raptor fans grimace
June 24
Toronto Star
 columnist Dave Feschuk
"Dwane Casey said he was "shocked." And maybe that was a good way to characterize the state of being of a lot of the folks who follow the Raptors on Thursday night. In a week that had already seen Casey, the newly installed and defensive-minded head coach, tell of his plan to build a "hard-hitting" team, there was plenty of educated speculation that, come Thursday's NBA draft, Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo might stock the coach's bench with a ready-to-use commodity of the coach's mentality. Instead, when the Raptors made their selection with the fifth overall pick, Colangelo chose a 19-year-old from Lithuania who isn't likely to play in the NBA next season. That'd be Jonas"