Will Anthony Bennett’s fortunes change in Toronto?
Bennett, the top pick of the 2014 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers hasn’t exactly panned out the way that top rookie picks are supposed to but perhaps he can do so if he plays for his hometown.
The 2013 top pick and the Minnesota Timberwolves officially agreed to a buyout recently and Bennett has already cleared waivers. The 22-year-old Canadian drew interest from four teams – the Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadlephia 76ers, Portland Trailblazers and the Utah Jazz.
However it seems that he likely team he will be joining is not from that list with reports that Bennett is likely headed to Toronto to join the Raptors.
Being a native of Toronto, Bennett may have already confirmed that his going to be a Raptor for the coming season via social media Twitter.
"Glad to officially be a part of the Raptors organization, Excited to get this year started !!! LetsGo," Bennett tweeted.
He also showed an image via Instagram which shows him signing documents which could possibly be his contract for his new ballclub.
Bennett is likely to get a one-year minimum deal with the Raptors in what could be a gamble on the part of the franchise to see if Bennett can strut the stuff that made him one of the touted players from UNLV.
Bennett was known as a scoring power forward during his college days but a shoulder injury in his final year and before he entered the 2013 NBA Draft seems to have slowed him down dramatically.
He spent most of the time on the bench for the Cavs in 2013, battling injuries and weight problems. He would work on his game the following year and did show positive development.
Bennett would however find himself packaged with 2014 top rookie pick Andrew Wiggins and later on be traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love.
As in his rookie year, Bennett spent the year pretty much the same as he would in his rookie season. The coming season seems to promise pretty much the same scenario with the entry of 2015 top rookie pick Karl-Anthony Towns. Along with other and proven forwards in the mix, Bennett became dispensable and thus the contract buyout talks.
Bennett averaged 5.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and did make a good account for himself in the Pan American Games as well as the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifiers for team Canada.
It remains to be seen if he can carry that success for the Raptors this 2015-16 NBA season which will see him reunited with another Canadian, Corey Joseph.