After leaving the Lithuanian national team on Monday to travel to Toronto in order to begin contract extension talks with the Raptors, Jonas Valanciunas has now officially agreed to sign an extension to remain with the team for four more years.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, Valanciunas’ contract extension is four years, worth $64 million with a player option on the final year. 

After allowing Amir Johnson to walk in free agency, it became clear that the Toronto Raptors would much rather keep Valanciunas long term. The Lithuanian center hasn’t had a star-studded career like many expected, but he is slowly making strides every season.

Last year, he averaged 12.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks on 57.2 percent shooting from the floor in 26.2 minutes per contest. With Johnson gone, Valanciunas' minutes could perhaps soar this year. 

And with Valanciunas steadily approaching a double-double average, the Raptors figure that he is an important piece to their future success. At seven-foot, 255 pounds, the 23-year old has tremendous size, as he takes up plenty of space in the paint. He uses his bulkiness to control the boards and bang down low with other big men.

Although Valanciunas hasn’t lived up to his expectations, the fifth overall pick in 2011 has at least become a vital role player and has had a hand in Toronto’s recent success.

With Valanciunas taken care of, the Raptors' next objective is to sign DeMar DeRozan to a contract extension which he will be eligible for next summer.   

In the meantime, the Raptors will now turn their attention to the upcoming season, as they have constructed a solid team after making several impressive off-season moves. Adding many defensive pieces to the roster, Toronto is determined to make a longer playoff run this season after back-to-back first-round exits.  

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Vahan Shakhpazyan
Vahan Shakhpazyan loves the NBA with a passion and has been an avid follower for 18 years. He is a UCR graduate with a BA degree in Creative Writing. The man behind the Facebook page NBA updates.