Former Toronto Raptors bust returns to NBA, signs with Celtics

Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri doesn’t have a ton of huge draft misses on his resume right now, but Bruno Caboclo has been the subject of mockery for the last eight years. Once Fran Fraschilla declared him “two years away from being two years away,” that put a target on his back.

In four seasons with Toronto, Caboclo never received anything more than spot mop-up duty when the outcome of the game had been decided. While he put up 8.3 points per game with solid efficiency after moving to the Grizzlies, he was unable to parlay that into a long-term NBA role.

After going to France and returning to Brazil following a departure from the Rockets, Caboclo has made the necessary changes to his game needed to make it back to the NBA. One Atlantic Division rival is going to take the Toronto reclamation project and give him a new lease on life in the NBA.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Caboclo has agreed to a training camp deal with the Boston Celtics, giving him a shot to make the reigning Eastern Conference champion’s final roster. Has his stint back in Brazil helped him become a more serviceable NBA player?

Toronto Raptors draft pick Bruno Caboclo joined the Celtics.

Caboclo played in just 25 games for the Raptors over the course of 3.5 seasons. While he was always considered a great athlete, he only scored more than 10 points once in his Raptors career. That came in a victory over the Bucks in which Toronto won by 42 points.

After averaging 10.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in France with Limoges, Caboclo returned to Brazil and set his domestic league on fire. Caboclo averaged 23.9 points and 11.1 rebounds while shooting an absurd 64% from the field. Is he starting to put the pieces together?

Caboclo has some solid performances with the Utah Jazz in Summer League play, lending even more credence to the theory that he will be more serviceable in his next go-around in the NBA. Of course, he could fail to make Boston’s roster if his newfound jumper doesn’t translate.

Caboclo has been a bit of a punchline ever since he was drafted, which is a bit unfair. The fact that he’s continued to put in the work and make yet another run at the NBA rather than sneaking off to the European leagues until the end of time says a lot about his mental makeup.