The Toronto Raptors’ D-League affiliate has traded for Indian-Canadian center Sim Bhullar, according to a report from Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Raptors 905 will send Ricky Ledo to the Reno Bighorns in the deal.
This is at the same time a big deal or no big deal, depending on your level of interest in the growth of the sport in Canada, the D-League, and generally weird basketball.
Listed at 7-foot-5 (or 7-foot-6, depending on the source) and 360 pounds, Bhullar became the first player of Indian descent to appear in an NBA game last season, though he was born and raised in Toronto. His presence, surely, was still great for growing the game of basketball globally, but he didn’t crack the Sacramento Kings roster on merit. Indian-born Kings owner Vivek Ranadive almost surely had a hand in Bhullar’s late-season promotion from the D-League, an entirely justifiable move late in a lost season.
While with the Kings, Bhullar saw three minutes of run over three games, shooting 1-of-2 from the floor, grabbing one rebound, and blocking one shot. “Those per-36 minute numbers,” you cry! Alas, Bhullar was slightly less remarkable in the D-League, though exceedingly efficient on offense. With the Bighorns playing a frenetic pace, Bhullar averaged 10.3 points on 72.7-percent shooting, chipping in 8.8 rebounds and 3.9 blocks, all in 25.8 minutes. That’s strong production, even controlling for pace, and most impressive may be that the glacial Bhullar was able to handle such a minutes load. He also made the All-Defensive Second Team and the All-Rookie Third Team, even recording a points-rebounds-blocks triple-double in February.
Prior to his D-League stint, Bhullar was a three-year sophomore at New Mexico State, where his younger brother Tanveer Bhullar still plays. Sim averaged similar (nailed it) numbers at the college level, scoring 10.4 points, grabbing 7.8 rebounds, and blocking 3.4 shots in 26.3 minutes. It was somewhat of a surprise when Bhullar declared for the draft two years early in 2014, but an appearance on the All-WAC Defensive Team and a nod as the WAC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player conceivably gave him some momentum.
Concerns about his conditioning and athleticism rendered him undraftable, and the Kings swooped in with a summer league invite (he barely played), then a training camp signing (bench duty, again). Once waived, Bhullar was assigned to Reno as a D-League affiliate player. The Kings brought Bhullar in for summer league again this offseason, but he departed after a single appearance to join Team Canada for the Pan-Am Games.
A product of Father Henry Carr in Etobicoke, Bhullar has been a part of the national program since 2010. He averaged 1.8 blocks in 10.5 minutes at the Pan-Ams but didn’t crack the roster for the FIBA Americas Championship, where Canada finished a disappointing third and failed to qualify for the 2016 Olympics.
In terms of Bhullar’s NBA potential, there’s not a ton here. Based on size alone, there’s a chance he gets a nod again in the future, and if he can ever work his way into great shape, he’d be able to provide some semblance of rim protection. I’ve only seen him live in-person at the OVO Bounce tournament, where he’s struggled to do much more than finish garbage baskets and block shots when players drive right at him, even against far lesser competition. Those are useful skills, to be clear, but NBA teams would be able to find ways to exploit Bhullar’s complete lack of mobility.
Still just 22 years old, there’s plenty of time for Raptors 905 head coach Jesse Murmuys and staff to help Bhullar refine his skill set beyond dump-ins and help blocks. Even failing that, they may be able to get him in good enough shape and improve his lateral footwork to the point where he can see end-of-the-bench duty at the next level. That’s not substantial upside or anything, but for a homegrown player who went undrafted, any NBA potential at all makes him fun to watch.
And fun to watch is the reason for this trade, if we’re being honest. It would be little surprise if Raptors905 went heavy on Canadians – the draft is Saturday, we’ll have a full recap by Sunday morning – as it’s both a way to fill the Hershey Centre and to continue to promote Canadian basketball at a local level.
Ledo, meanwhile, was acquired in the D-League expansion draft in late August. A second round pick of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2013, Ledo appeared in 16 games with the Dallas Mavericks and 12 with the New York Knicks between 2013-14 and 2014-15. He averaged 15.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in the D-League last season.
