Kelly Olynyk discusses signing two-year extension with Raptors

Kelly Olynyk discusses signing two-year extension with Raptors

The Toronto Raptors had an active trade deadline, which began back in December.

The franchise traded forward OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks in exchange for a package headlined by Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett, soon followed by trading Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers for Bruce Brown.

Roughly five hours ahead of the Feb. 8 deadline, instead of selling off Brown–when there was speculation he might get moved–the Raptors acquired forward Kelly Olynyk from the Utah Jazz.

Olynyk, a native Canadian, was near the top of the totem pole of available bigs ahead of the deadline. The deal was understandably viewed as a head-scratcher by some, given Toronto’s swift direction change in their prior moves.

Olynyk did not wait to re-up, signing a two-year extension worth $26.5 million with the organization this week. He spoke about why he decided to stay long-term this week:

“[The Toronto Raptors] wanted [Ochai Agbaji and I] here for a longer session than just a few months,” Olynyk told Sportsnet’s Savanna Hamilton Tuesday. “[The feeling] was reciprocated. I wanted to be here for a while, somewhere that wants you and appreciates you. I think that’s the relationship we’ve come to agree on.

“For me, it’s about clearing the slate and making sure (we) finish this year out as strong as we can and try to sneak into the playoffs. After that, clearing the summer for the Olympics and able to not have anything on your plate and worry about anything going into that and continue from that into the next year and hit the ground running.“

Olynyk was in the final year of his three-year, $37.2 million deal and was expected to be an unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason. Olynyk was eligible for a four-year extension for over $75 million, but decided to sacrifice some to take on similar money for the next two seasons.

In 10 games with the Raptors, he’s averaging 10.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals on 45.8 percent shooting. He will assume a bigger role over the next several weeks with Jakob Poeltl out with a torn ligament on his finger.

Olynyk is expected to compete with Team Canada ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, even though a formal roster has not yet been announced. Barring injury, the roster will likely be headed by Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver’s Jamal Murray, Raptors teammate RJ Barrett and Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins, among others.

If Olynyk outplays his current contract while Toronto’s not competing, it’s a very movable contract. But it will also allow additional flexibility to re-sign Quickley this offseason, in addition to Gary Trent Jr., if it chooses to.

“I think that [Kelly Olynyk’s] the right guy for our team, the right fit,” Darko Rajakovic, the Toronto Raptors’ head coach, said earlier this week. “Him coming back home — it’s a great story for you guys, as well — I think it’s amazing and I think it’s the right fit. 

“He comes to our team in the right moment to help with our young core and young players developing.”

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