Jared Sullinger is headed back to the D-League.
The Toronto Raptors assigned Sullinger and Fred VanVleet to their minor league affiliate on Friday. Those two will join Bruno Caboclo on assignment, while Delon Wright has been recalled. The 905 play at 7:30 p.m. at Hershey Centre on Saturday.
Sullinger requested an assignment on Jan. 28 in order to help him continue to work his way back into game shape after missing months following foot surgery. His performance to that point had been shaky outside of a quick burst in his debut, and the frustrated power forward told Raptors Republic that if he didn’t figure it out soon, he needed “to sit down, period.” He looked as uneven as expected in his lone game with the 905, dominating physically but showing a bit of rust in terms of his jumper, ball skill, and defense. Following that game, he’s appeared in six of Toronto’s seven games, and is now averaging 3.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 10.7 minutes over 11 outings, shooting 31.3 percent.
Given his vague initial timeline for recovery, his progress remains right on or even ahead of schedule. The repetitions he’s been able to get in so far haven’t been terrific, but some feared he’d be out until the All-Star break, and he’s at least been able to get a bit of time in, working on his conditioning and his understanding of the system. In two of his recent appearances with the parent club, he looked solid, and the team did not look worse off for having him out there. That’s damning with feint praise, perhaps, but it’s a measure forward from where he was before his first assignment.
Saturday marks another opportunity for Sullinger to get work in with the Raptors off for three days, and he should once again see a steady diet of touches and upwards of 30 minutes. As discussed at the time of the initial assignment, Sullinger deserves a world of credit for bucking convention and any remaining D-League stigma in becoming one of the first veteran players to accept a rehab assignment after already returning to NBA play.
Now, whether that turns into anything of use for the Raptors is yet to be seen. Sullinger has looked like as awkward a fit next to Jonas Valanciunas as expected, and the backup center spot Sullinger was in part expected to fill has been capably run with by Lucas Nogueira. Sullinger will likely be able to get himself to playing at a higher level than he has to date, but he remains in a tough place in terms of the Raptors’ rotation and his role. Toronto has also continually had him pop or trail above the arc rather than getting him into the corners or short-roll to the elbows, and his shooting has suffered as a result.
Presumed the starting power forward and small-ball center, his role as the team presently shapes up would be that of backup power forward, playing smaller minutes, and even then he’d only be tenable there in certain matchups. The Raptors, meanwhile, continue to reportedly hunt for a power forward upgrade, and if they wind up making a smaller-scale deal, Sullinger’s salary would be a prime chip for salary-matching. In other words, the size – and mere existence – of his role on this team for the remainder of the year remains very much up in the air, hard though he may by trying.
The flip of Wright and VanVleet is interesting. Wright’s appeared in five games as a sort of tune-up or rehabilitation since being cleared, and as he did last year, he’s looked too advanced for the level. So, too, has VanVleet, though, and VanVleet’s been successfully filling in with meaningful spot minutes for the Raptors. It’s not clear if this swap suggests Wright may get the next look if Toronto needs a third point guard, or if this is just keeping VanVleet fresh and adhering to the initial plan, which would have seen the two point guards trade time in the D-League back and forth. It will be interesting to see, then, who draws the inactive spot on the Raptors’ roster Sunday alongside Caboclo, assuming nobody is out injured.
(Both VanVleet and Sullinger seem likely to be recalled for Sunday’s home game, as the 905 are off until a Tuesday game in Mississauga.)
Caboclo remaining with the 905 is little surprise. He continues to take major strides defensively while stagnating on the offensive end, the former of which is probably more important given his ultimate NBA role, should he reach that level. He’s still among the 20 youngest players in the NBA and a ways away from being leaned on as a contributor.
