Raptors land Gasol in blockbuster with Memphis
TORONTO (CP) — The Toronto Raptors pulled off one of the league’s biggest deals at the NBA trade deadline, acquiring Marc Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies for Jonas Valanciunas, C.J. Miles, Delon Wright and a 2024 second-round draft pick.
The blockbuster deal, which was completed late Thursday evening, brings a player long coveted by Raptors president Masai Ujiri to Toronto. It’s also a power move for a Toronto team looking to at least keep pace with Milwaukee and Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference.
Raptors guard Fred VanVleet spoke highly of Gasol shortly before Toronto tipped off against the Hawks in Atlanta.
“(Gasol) is one of the best fives in the league for a long time now, perennial all-star, defensive player of the year,” VanVleet said.
“Just really excited to see how we can acclimate him to what we do and see how much he can give us a boost. Obviously we’re very excited about that,” he added.
In a separate deal, the Raptors also sent veteran forward Greg Monroe and a 2021 second-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for cash considerations.
The 76ers and Bucks had made major moves ahead of Thursday’s deadline, the Sixers landing Tobias Harris and Milwaukee acquiring Nikola Mirotic.
As Thursday wore on, Raptors fans took to social media to implore Ujiri to make a major move. And he did.
It’s Ujiri’s biggest trade-deadline deal since returning to the team in 2013.
Gasol is a three-time all-star and the 2013 defensive player of the year. He’s averaging 15.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.1 steals a game, and his 4.7 assists a night is second best in the league behind Denver’s Nikola Jokic.
The 7-foot-1 Spaniard is a twotime Olympian, and Gasol will be reunited with Spanish coach and Raptors assistant Sergio Scariolo in Toronto.
Gasol, who played 11 seasons in Memphis, is making US$24.1 million this season and has a player option for $25.6 million next season.
In Valanciunas, the Raptors’ lose one of their most popular players. The 26-year-old, who was drafted by Toronto fifth overall in 2011, was finally cleared to play Thursday after missing 25 games with a dislocated left thumb.
The moves leave the Raptors with just 10 players under NBA contracts, and they must be at 14 within the next two weeks. They could convert one or both of their two-way contracts with Chris Boucher and Jordan Loyd to NBA contracts.
RAPTORS 119, HAWKS 101
ATLANTA (AP) — Pascal Siakam scored a career-high 33 points, VanVleet added a career-best 30 and the Raptors rallied after trailing by 17 points in the first half to beat the Hawks 119-101 on Thursday night.