Raptors get Grizzlies’ Gasol for Valanciunas, two others
TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors appear to have pulled off one of the league’s biggest deals at the National Basketball Association trade deadline, acquiring Marc Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies for Jonas Valanciunas.
ESPN, which first reported the deal, said C.J. Miles and Delon Wright will also be going to Memphis.
The blockbluster deal 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 East.
Ujiri was to address the media in Toronto after the official trade call with the league, but Raptors guard Fred VanVleet spoke highly of Gasol shortly before Toronto
tipped off 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,” VanVleet 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 3 p.m. ET deadline, the Sixers landing Tobias Harris and Milwaukee acquiring Nikola Mirotic.
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 seven-foot-one Spaniard is a two-time Olympian, and will be reunited with Spanish coach and Raptors assistant Sergio Scariolo in Toronto. Gasol, who played 11 seasons in Memphis, is slated to make US$24.1 million this season and has a player option for $25.6 million next season.
Valanciunas, 26, was finally cleared to play Thursday after missing 25 games with a dislocated left thumb. The team posted a photo of the big Lithuanian on social media with two words: “I’m back.”
He said Thursday morning: “I am really excited. I was really looking forward to this day and there you go. If nothing crazy happens, I will be playing.”
The moves leave Toronto with 10 players under NBA contracts. They must be at 14 in two weeks.