The Toronto Raptors appear to have signed power forward/centre Jared Sullinger in an attempt to solidify their frontcourt.
Advertisement
On Monday afternoon, Sullinger broke the news himself by tweeting “WE THE NORTH#0” and changed his Twitter avatar to a Raptors logo.
A one-year $6 million can be looked at as a steal for the Masai Ujiri and the Toronto Raptors.
This deal shouldn’t come as much of a surprise as Toronto was still searching for a big man to help replace Bismack Biyombo and Luis Scola.
Sullinger averaged 11.1 points and 7.7 rebounds a game over four years with the Celtics after being selected 21st overall in the 2012 draft. Sullinger agreed to the deal with the Raptors after Boston made him an unresticted free agent by pulling his qualifying offer last week.
Boston has been in need of cap space after signing Al Horford to a four-year, $113 million contract. The team is surely going to be relying on him to make an impact, potentially as its starting power forward.
Sullinger regressed slightly from a scoring perspective in 15/16 as compared to his earlier years (largely due to Boston becoming a better team last year), but improved his rebounding numbers.
The Bulls already traded star point guard Derrick Rose to NY and from all accounts, are still looking to make more moves as they look to rebuild the franchise through adding young players and then hitting the free agent market hard next summer.
The Raptors play in the same conference and division as the Celtics, providing plenty of competition (both teams went to the playoffs last season). Before packing his bags for a new home up North, Sullinger thanked the Celtics organization and the fans for their support.
Advertisement
Sullinger proved a lot of people right during his first professional season, as he flashed lots of potential and provided an immediate impact with his ability to rebound the basketball.
