Is Jonas Valanciunas the key to the Toronto Raptors' season?

In Jonas Valanciunas’ rookie season last year we saw flashes of the potential that made him the fifth overall pick in the 2011 draft. This year, the Toronto Raptors are expecting much more than that after the putting the 7-foot-centre through a busy offseason.

After the regular season ended with the Raps missing the playoffs yet again, they sent the 21-year old to play with their summer league team before he joined Lithuania squad for the European championships. His numbers were respectable last year – 8.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 55 percent shooting from the floor per game – but his game needed polish and as many minutes on the court as possible.

His offseason was a little up and down. He was named MVP of the Las Vegas Summer League, but then played only 16 minutes per game at the European championships. The good news is he has put on some weight, which should help him battle the Eastern Conferences’ bigs in the paint. The big question is whether his offseason work will be enough to make him a fixture in Toronto’s lineup.

“He had to learn. We knew that going in, that it was going to be ugly,” Raptors head coach Dwane Casey told reporters. “But as the year went on you could see a young man growing, and it continued through this summer. It’s not a finished product yet but he’s getting there and I really like what we have.”

Valanciunas seems much more comfortable as the Raptors continue their preseason camp in Halifax, Nova Scotia all ready. He continues to take English lessons and is working out with former NBA big man Jamal Magloire regularly. Magloire isn’t exactly taking it easy on him either.

“We have some two-on-one drills where (Magloire) still gets in there and cracks people, they know it’s not like a little coach in there with pads on, it’s a real seven-foot guy who will knock you on your butt if you don’t come in the right way,” Casey told reporters. “Jamaal does a great job of that, he’s still in shape, and he’s done a heck of a job of being a vocal and physical mentor to a lot of our inside players.”

It’s hard to know what to expect from the Raptors (+12500 to win the NBA title) this year. If Valanciunas becomes a strong contributor inside and other players like Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan play up to their capabilities, maybe this is a playoff team. GM Masai Ujiri has a vision for this team and if he can find a legitimate outside shooter, the Raptors will be a much more difficult team to play against, as long as Valanciunas doesn’t run into a wall after his busy offseason.

Either way, Raptors fans can look forward to cheering for a playoff push, or the possibility of nabbing Andrew Wiggins in the draft. At this point, it’s hard to know which result would be better for the franchise.