Anthony Bennett has finally found his new home after he was bought out by the Minnesota Timberwolves as he has officially signed with the Toronto Raptors, according to his Instagram account. About a week ago it was reported that the Raptors had no interest in Bennett but they clearly changed their minds. Bennett will now reportedly compete with Luis Scola for minutes as the backup power forward, according to Nick Borges of ESPN.
Bennett is from Toronto so for that reason it isn't much of a surprise that he chose to sign with the Raptors. It was a surprise though because of their situation at his position. The Raptors don't have a runaway starter after Amir Johnson left but Patrick Patterson is fully expected to start at the four. Behind Patterson the Raptors have Scola who is a solid NBA backup and James Johnson who played a role for the Raptors last season.
Bennett will have to come into camp and show that he is healthy and in shape in order to warrant some minutes. So far in his NBA career Bennett has struggled with injuries and conditioning which has either kept him off the floor or hasn't allowed him to perform to his capabilities. As it stands now it seems as though Bennett might have a tough time getting consistent minutes for the Raptors as he has not proven to be better than Johnson or Scola.
The 22 year old forward is on a one year deal for the minimum amount of just less than $1 million. Scola, on the other hand, signed a one year $2.9 million contract and Johnson is in the final year of a two year $5 million contract which is just another thing Bennett has going against him.
Based on contracts and past performance it would seem as though Bennett is the fourth best power forward on the Raptors roster at this time. Bennett though is an extremely talented player who many people agreed was a surefire lottery pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. Bennett is also coming off a summer where he looked extremely good for Team Canada so maybe he can carry that momentum into training camp. Bennett will really need to show up big time in camp and the preseason with the Raptors if he wants to earn regular minutes.
