Sullinger a good fallback option for Raptors Toronto has been in on just about every power forward that has become available this summer, Josh Lewenberg writes.

Josh Lewenberg TSN Raptors Reporter Follow|Archive

LAS VEGAS - No, Jared Sullinger was not exactly the Raptors' master plan at the power forward position.

He wasn't Plan A, B, C, or even D necessarily, but when multiple attempts to acquire a star or higher profile player fell through and the 24-year-old became available at an affordable price, general manager Masai Ujiri didn't hesitate. Sullinger may not be the perfect fit, but he's a viable fallback option for a team that tried to swing for the fences. In the end, they may actually be better off.

The perception that Ujiri had been sitting on his hands, or even waiting out the market, is misguided. He's been patient, but don't confuse patience with inactivity. The Raptors have been in on just about every power forward that has become available, either in free agency or the trade market, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. For one reason or another, nothing panned out until now.

In the 10 days leading up to the Sullinger signing, the Raptors were close to locking down a couple of targets at the four spot, their weakest position. Close enough that they believed these were done deals.

First, Pau Gasol was very nearly a Raptor. They were in extensive talks with the Spanish big man and six-time all-star until the 11th hour. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan had helped recruit him and Toronto had a trade lined up to unload the salary required to sign the unrestricted free agent. It would have cost them Terrence Ross — a player the Raptors are still high on — and probably one of their young players. Once it became clear that Tim Duncan was going to retire, Gasol chose the San Antonio Spurs, citing their talent and rich history, among other factors. He personally called the Raptors to break the news and thank them for their efforts.

With Gasol off the market, the Raptors turned their attention to Chicago's Taj Gibson, a long-time player of interest. They believed they had a deal in place that would have sent Gibson and swingman Tony Snell to Toronto. Then, as Miami's relationship with Dwyane Wade continued to deteriorate and the Bulls emerged as candidates to sign the future hall of famer, things fell through. Suddenly, what Chicago needed most — cap relief — the Raptors were not able to offer.

They kicked around the idea of a Ross-for-Nerlens Noel swap leading up to the draft, but were never enamoured with the Sixers centre. They made a run at Serge Ibaka before he was moved to Orlando, but Oklahoma City's asking price (Cory Joseph, Patrick Patterson, Norman Powell and the ninth-overall pick) was more than they were willing to pay for a player going into the final year of his contract. They called Atlanta about Paul Millsap, after inquiring about him at the trade deadline last February, but the Hawks opted to hang onto their all-star power forward after Al Horford spurned them for Boston.

As a result, Sullinger fell through the cracks and, ultimately, into the Raptors' lap, similar to the way in which they landed Joseph a year ago. Last summer the Spurs reluctantly cut bait with the Canadian point guard to clear space for LaMarcus Aldridge. This time around, the addition of Horford to an already crowded Celtics front court left Sullinger as the odd man out. Boston rescinded his qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent and Ujiri didn't waste time in setting up a meeting.

The Raptors sat down with Sullinger and his representatives in Las Vegas on Sunday and had an agreement in place soon after. The deal is for one-year at roughly $5.6 million – the team's mid-level exception – and is expected to be made official later this week, along with the signing of DeRozan.

In terms of value, it doesn't get much better than that in this new NBA economy. The consensus around the league is that this was a coup for Toronto.

By no means is Sullinger their long-term solution at power forward. In fact, even if it goes according to plan, if Sullinger has a breakout fifth NBA season and proves to be a diamond in the rough, the Raptors will almost certainly lose him next year, for the same reason they lost Bismack Biyombo this summer. Toronto won't own his Bird rights, meaning they'll be unable to offer him more money or a longer term than any other team and they can't go over the salary cap in order to retain him.

He's a stopgap, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The Raptors envision Sullinger starting alongside Jonas Valanciunas in the front court this season but he'll have to compete for that job with Patterson in training camp. Regardless, the two will split time at the position and undoubtedly be an upgrade over what they had there last year, with respect to Luis Scola, who was a pleasant early-season surprise before wearing down late in the campaign.

The one-year deal allows them to maintain some flexibility, more than they would have had with some of those other players they had chased, in the event that an opportunity to acquire that star player presents itself down the road. They still have all their assets, several of which they would have had to surrender for what would have been, in some cases, only a moderate upgrade at the position.

As for the cost, it's a bargain relative to market value. In most cases, forwards with smaller resumes and arguably less upside are making more than twice as much as Sullinger will be annually. Solomon Hill, the Pacers' forward who logged under 15 minutes per game last season, will make $48 million over the next four years ($12 million per) with New Orleans. Sporadically used Canadian bigs Dwight Powell and Andrew Nicholson will make $37 million ($9.25 million per) and $26 million ($6.5 million per) over the next four, respectively. Trevor Booker got $18.5 million over two years ($9.3 million per), Anthony Tolliver got $16 million over two ($8.0 million), Darrell Arthur got $23 million over three ($7.7 million per) and even Tarik Black — who couldn't crack the rotation on a 17-win Lakers team — got $12.5 million over two ($6.3 million per).

Sullinger started 73 of the 81 games he appeared in last year, logging 23.6 minutes a night for a 48-win Celtics club. Although his playing time was down, lowest since his rookie campaign, he nearly averaged a double-double, including a career-best 8.3 rebounds per game.

Will he prove to be the type of find that Joseph and Biyombo, even Scola, were for Toronto last year? Maybe. But, at that price, it's a low-risk gamble and one the Raptors are happy to make. Part of being a GM in this league is rolling with the punches, and although Ujiri's team has taken a few hits this summer, they believe they're in good standing entering the latter stages of July.