Anthony Bennett to Raptors: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction
Anthony Bennett experienced a fall from grace after floundering with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves, but the former No. 1 overall pick now has a chance to revive his career and shed his status as a bust.
Bennett and the Toronto Raptors announced Monday that they had come to terms on a contract. The team did not disclose terms of the deal, but Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reported the deal is a one-year minimum contract. Bennett tweeted his excitement Sunday afternoon:
USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt explained the motivation behind Toronto's move:
The Timberwolves waived Bennett on Sept. 23, but the 5 p.m. deadline on Sept. 25 came and went without a single team claiming 2013's top pick. The Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers were the only teams eligible to claim Bennett, per former Brooklyn Nets assistant general manager Bobby Marks.
Cleveland took a gamble on Bennett after winning the 2013 draft lottery, but the former UNLV standout didn't live up to expectations. During his rookie season, Bennett appeared in just 52 games as he battled injury woes and struggled to get in shape.
Following one of the most disappointing rookie campaigns in recent memory, Bennett was flipped to the Timberwolves along with Andrew Wiggins in the Kevin Love blockbuster.
Bennett's numbers improved marginally thanks to a change of scenery, but he didn't develop enough to prove he belonged in Minnesota long-term.
| 2013-14 | 12.8 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 35.6% | 24.5% | 6.9 | -0.4 |
| 2014-15 | 15.7 | 5.2 | 3.8 | 42.1% | 30.4% | 11.4 | 0.3 |
ESPN Stats & Info provided some context for underwhelming stats:
If Bennett is going to prove he belongs in the NBA for years to come, he'll need to expand his limited offensive arsenal.
"Bennett has only one even semi-proven NBA skill: rolling to the basket hard, catching the ball, and doing something productive close to the rim," Grantland's Zach Lowe wrote.
Through two seasons, he is shooting a combined 39.3 percent from the field and 26.3 percent from three. As the following numbers indicate, he's proved incapable of knocking down shots outside of three feet:
| 64.8% | 20.0% | 23.7% | 31.4% | 26.3% |
Bennett also needs to prove he can defend at least at a league-average level. Last season, the Timberwolves surrendered 113.2 points per 100 possessions with Bennett on the court—3.6 points worse than the team's 30th-ranked mark of 109.6.
Now on his third team in three years, Bennett has entered the realm of reclamation projects.
The good news is that he's still 22 years old with plenty of room to grow. And despite an abundance of red flags, he's a long, strong athlete with a bit of untapped potential that could be parlayed into a niche role down the line.
