Sources: Raptors Struggling to Deal Jonas Valanciunas

[The Toronto Raptors] have already shed familiar rotation players DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph and Patrick Patterson, betting on the further development of youngsters they’ve accumulated in the last few years.

But the team has been unable to shed the final piece that would complete its restructuring: [Jonas] Valanciunas, and the three years and $50 million (including a final-year player option) he is owed.

Toronto has sought to deal Valanciunas since the February trade deadline. They’d had conversations with Detroit and New Orleans then, sources said, and continued to have discussions around Valanciunas at the draft, but talks with the likes of Sacramento, Phoenix, Charlotte, Portland and Atlanta did not get very far.

Valanciunas could wind up being eclipsed in Toronto, even without a deal. One of the aims of the offseason for the Raptors was to both unload some salary and clear up playing time for some younger, hungrier players the Raptors have been developing. Among those are second-year men Jakob Poeltl and Pascal Siakam, and both had very good showings this summer.

Source: Sean Deveney of Sporting News