The Toronto Raptors have picked up the options for the contracts of Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross making them a part of the Raptors overall team picture until the 2015-2016 NBA season. This is part of the Raptors move to retain its core group from last seasons playoff run.
Valanciunas going into his 3rd year starting Center from Lithuania who recently dominated the FIBA world cup and is looking to get more touches offensively by the Raptors. He averaged 10.3 points and 7.6 rebounds in two seasons since the Raptors selected him fifth overall in the 2011 draft.
Ross, who is also going into his third year in the NBA, is the starting Small Forward for the Raptors, coming off a season filled with inconsistency, but showed glimpses of stardom, scoring 51 points against the Los Angeles Clippers. He averaged 8.7 points and 2.6 rebounds throughout his games.
With both players comes the potential to be key contributors on the team or even potential stars in the NBA. This is a great move for the Raptors as they are able to keep players that they feel have great potential and keep team chemistry going into the season in order to push into the playoffs this year again. The Toronto Raptors surprised teams last year finishing 3rd in the eastern conference after a poor start. It was quite a remarkable season for the Raptors and with Valanciunas, Lowry, DeRozan, Ross, and Johnson in the starting five, they hope to bring back the magic. #WeTheNorth.
