The Raptors said they had “no expectations” for Anthony Bennett when they signed the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NBA draft.
Now, they have no Anthony Bennett.
Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports:
The Toronto Raptors are waiving forward Anthony Bennett to sign veteran Jason Thompson for the season, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 29, 2016
Jason Thompson, whom the Warriors waived to sign Anderson Varejao, gives Toronto another power forward with Luis Scola and Patrick Patterson. Though that’s still a position of question for the Raptors, they’ll probably just rely on the veteran Thompson for steadier depth than Bennett provided.
Thompson is also more capable of playing center than Scola and Patterson. So, he could be a safer option than the raw Lucas Nogueira behind Jonas Valanciunas and Bismack Biyombo.
Mostly, there was a reason Thompson was available: He’s a fringe rotation player (at best) on a good team. Toronto, trying to win its first best-of-seven playoff series in franchise history, could use the depth. Just don’t expect Thompson to move the needle unless someone gets hurt or in foul trouble.
This is also another low point for Bennett, who was waived by the Timberwolves before the season and became the first No. 1 pick to play in the D-League. Perhaps, a lottery team takes a flier on the 22-year-old the rest of this season. But it wouldn’t at all be surprising if Bennett falls from the NBA.
