Tristan Thompson was considered by some to be a surprise pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the No. 4 selection in 2011 ahead of Jonas Valanciunas. 

Valanciunas didn't come to the NBA until the 12-13 season.

"It's only a surprise if you didn't watch the workouts," Thompson said following Thursday's practice before heading to Toronto. "If you ask ownership and coach (Byron) Scott and CG (Former GM Chris Grant) and even Griff (General Manager David Griffin), if you watched the workouts, there's some other guys in that workout that probably shouldn't have went in the pick they went, but, we won't get into that. It was not a surprise."

Thompson and Valanciunas will always be linked by their draft class.

"In the draft you always have a special bond and connection, especially if you have one that goes right after you, so it's kind of always, I guess everybody thinks you're competing," Thompson said. "But me and him both have a good relationship off the court, so we just push each other and try to get the best."

Jared Sullinger will undergo surgery on his left foot and will miss at least the first few weeks of the season.

The surgery on Sullinger will be performed on Monday in New York.

Sullinger signed a one-year, $6 million free-agent deal with the Toronto Raptors in July.

Sullinger averaged 11.1 points and 7.7 rebounds over four seasons with the Boston Celtics.

Masai Ujiri said on Monday that Sullinger will likely miss two to three months.

Jared Sullinger could be out indefinitely with a foot injury.

Sullinger was projected to be the Toronto Raptors' starting power forward.

“Jared is still sore. He may be a little while before he comes back,” Dwane Casey said ahead of his team’s final preseason game against the Wizards.

“He may get checked out to see what else is going on, but he’s not going to go tonight.”

Sullinger had his left foot stepped on in the first preseason game and hasn’t played since.

Kyle Lowry unsurprisingly plans to opt out of the final season of his current contract with the Toronto Raptors.

Lowry is scheduled to make just $12 million for the 17-18 season, making his opt out decision an easy one.

Lowry would become a free agent alongside Chris Paul and Stephen Curry. Lowry would prefer to re-sign with the Raptors on a five-year deal before taking meetings with other teams as DeMar DeRozan did this past offseason.

“If you’re that franchise’s guy, and you’re the guy that they’ve been rolling with, and you’ve given that franchise everything you have, yeah, I think [the talks] should be easy,” Lowry told The Vertical. “I think it should be a situation where a guy shouldn’t have to talk to another team. DeMar didn’t have the chance to talk to another team. …

“For me, I think that at 12:01 a.m. on July 1 – something should be close. If not, I’m open to seeing what else is out there.”

“Kyle has been at the forefront of the Raptor movement,” Masai Ujiri told The Vertical. “How he goes, we go. He has helped establish a culture that will grow even more. We really appreciate that. He is a winner, and we want to win.”