The Toronto Raptors have assigned Fred VanVleet to Raptors 905 of the D-League, the team announced Thursday.
With the 905 at home Thursday and the Raptors only practicing in Toronto, it only made sense to try to get some of the young guys some additional run with the D-League squad. VanVleet has suited up for the 905 with regularity when they’re not on the road, shuttling back and forth for practices and games to maximize his development time. He’ll join a 905 team that sits at 8-2 and just swept a three-game road trip without the benefit of assignees, and he’ll make them even more deadly.
In six games with the 905, VanVleet is averaging 17.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 1.3 steals, though he’s struggled shooting the ball a bit with a 50.2 true-shooting percentage. That should come back up as his 3-point shot starts to drop, as VanVleet’s out to an uncharacteristic 5-of-18 mark from long-range. The undrafted free agent has also been able to find his way into some late-game minutes with the Raptors, scoring seven points with three assists and two steals in 15 minutes spread across six games.
The most interesting note about VanVleet being assigned is that he’s heading to Mississauga alone. The schedule originally set up such that it seemed two others could join him, but Lucas Nogueira’s knee injury has rendered Jakob Poeltl a somewhat precious commodity. Poeltl played seven minutes last night, is the backup center in the event Nogueira can’t go again on Friday, and may have been needed for a full practice to be possible Thursday afternoon. There’s always a chance the Raptors assign Poeltl following practice.
There’s also no Bruno Caboclo. Caboclo sat with a sore knee on Friday but has been in uniform and traveled with the team since, so this one is a bit curious. Perhaps the knee is still bothering him enough that the team doesn’t want him to play a full load of minutes, or he’s working with the team’s training staff to get it back to 100 percent. Like with Poeltl, the team can always assign him later, too, as the 905 don’t play until 7:30 and the drive, while annoying, is quite reasonable.
The 905 head back on the road after this one, so expect VanVleet to be recalled right after (we probably won’t write up that news unless something changes).
UPDATE: Bruno Caboclo was assigned to the 905 after the parent club’s practice. He’ll be active for the team’s game against the Oklahoma City Blue, then likely right back to the Raptors for Friday’s home game against the Hawks. It appears Caboclo’s knee is fine and this was a matter of wanting to get VanVleet down for shootaround but having Caboclo on hand for Raptors practice. Shrug.
