Former fan fave describes 'painful' Toronto Raptors departure

Jonas Valanciunas lived through some of the most notable moments in Toronto Raptors history but just missed out on being part of the biggest accomplishment on them all.

Valanciunas, who broke into the NBA with the Raptors in 2012-13, became a big piece of the organization up until he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2018-19 season.

The Raptors sent out Valanciunas along with C.J. Miles, Delon Wright, and a 2024 second-round pick in exchange for Marc Gasol, who ended up being a starter on the team’s NBA championship later that year.

In an episode of the team’s in-house Open Gym show that came out this week, Valanciunas was pretty open about the emotions he went through during his departure from the team.

“It was painful. When you spend so much time and you put a lot of your soul and your dedication to that team, I thought everything [was] going to continue as it was. Right before the trade deadline, I’m going to Memphis, I didn’t know what to expect. [It was] my first time being traded, first time going somewhere else… six-and-a-half years is not a short period of
time, but is what it is,” he said.

Toronto president Masai Ujiri also explained how the deal wore on him as well, and that it was simply a matter of trying to add a former NBA Defensive Player of the Year talent like Gasol.

“I remember calling JV, and that broke my heart. Here we were on the verge [of being successful].. Letting JV go for a player that was a bit more of a fit for how we wanted to play… that was a decision we had to make,” Ujiri said.

“That’s the toughest part of the business,” an archival shot of Ujiri in the episode showed.

Valanciunas, who now plays for the Sacramento Kings after being dealt at the deadline this year, has played for four teams since leaving Toronto, also having stops with the New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards after leaving the Grizzlies in a 2021 three-team trade.