JULY 11: The Grizzlies have officially re-signed Valanciunas, the team announced today in a press release.
JUNE 30: The Grizzlies and Jonas Valanciunas have agreed to terms on a three-year, $45MM deal, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
According to Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (via Twitter), the contract will have a descending structure, so it will likely start around $16MM. Wojnarowski first reported (via Twitter) several hours before free agency began that Valanciunas would be staying in Memphis on a three-year, $45MM deal.
The Grizzlies acquired the 27-year-old center in a February trade that sent Marc Gasol to Toronto. Valanciunas put up career-best number in 19 games with Memphis, averaging 19.9 points and 10.7 rebounds per night.
The fifth pick in the 2011 draft, Valanciunas was part of the Raptors’ foundation for six and a half years before being traded. Earlier this month, he opted out of a $17,617,976 salary for next season.
At three years, Valanciunas’ new contract will expire before the Grizzlies’ next deal for Jaren Jackson Jr., notes Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Very nice deal
Good deal for what he showed after the trade. Him Jackson and Morant are solid pieces going forward
What a steal, Horford and Vucevic are gonna get twice as much and aren’t twice as good. Not exactly sure why anyone would voluntarily sign with them but 45M is still a lot. Good for him
Vucevic is so underrated! He is way better than valanciunas and horford
He’s underrated but to say he’s way better than Valanciunas is bull. Just look at their per 36 the only thing Vucevic has on Valanciunas is assists. Vucevic is not 55M better than him.
Vuc can shoot 3s.
He did a great job of improving his weaknesses the last 2 years. Memphis quietly has an interesting roster of young veterans and young players
In chemistry, valence means the combining power of an element. Valancuinas means first separating, then combining, in order to form a longer-lasting bond.
Can I buy drugs from you? LOL :)
Got some metformin man… helps you keep your cookies
interesting that he opted out and took less money
Less is more.
He got multiple years in a tough market for Centers, in my opinion, so he did well
$45 million is more than $17 million