TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday they have acquired centre Marc Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for center Jonas Valanciunas, guard Delon Wright, forward C.J. Miles and a 2024 second-round draft pick.
“Marc brings significant playoff experience to our team, which along with his savviness and leadership skills really helps position us for our ultimate post-season goal,” said Raptors president Masai Ujiri. “We look forward to welcoming Marc to our city and team.”
Gasol, 7-foot-1, 255 pounds, is averaging 15.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, a career-high 4.7 assists, 1.2 blocks and 33.7 minutes in 53 games this season. He is shooting .444 from the field, .344 from three-point range and .756 at the free throw line. Gasol has scored 20 or more points 13 times and posted 18 double-doubles.
Gasol owns career averages of 15.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.5 blocks and 33.7 minutes in 769 career games (762 starts) during 11 seasons with Memphis. He is the Grizzlies’ all-time leader in points (11,684), rebounds (5,942), blocks (1,135) and wins (407). In the postseason, Gasol averages 17.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 39.7 minutes in 59 games. He was selected in the second-round (No. 48 overall) by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2007 NBA Draft and acquired by the Grizzlies in February 2008.
A native of Barcelona, Spain, Gasol has been selected to the NBA All-Star Game three times (2012, 2015, 2017) and was named the 2012-13 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He earned First Team All-NBA honors in 2014-15 and named Second Team All-NBA in 2012-13.
Gasol also has a highly-decorated international career as a member of the Spanish National Team, where he has played for Raptors assistant coach Sergio Scariolo. Gasol has helped the country earn seven medals on the international stage since joining the team in 2006, including silver medals at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.
“We are lucky to have had Jonas for seven years in Toronto. He is smart, professional, and so personable and we are grateful for all he did for our organization,” Ujiri said. “Delon is blossoming into the kind of player we always believed he could be, and C.J. is a dedicated veteran who set an example in our locker room and did everything we asked of him on the court. We appreciate their contributions, and wish them well.”
Valanciunas was picked No. 5 overall by Toronto in the 2011 NBA Draft. He averaged 11.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and 25.1 minutes in 470 career games with the Raptors. Valanciunas ranks second (3,961) on the team’s all-time rebounds list, third in blocks (479), sixth in games played (470) and seventh in points (5,524).
Wright averaged 6.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 17.5 minutes in 172 games with Toronto. He was selected No. 20 overall by the Raptors in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Miles averaged 8.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 17.3 minutes in 110 games during two seasons with the Raptors. He signed as a free-agent July 18, 2017.
