The decision to pursue the free agent – who cleared waivers Friday after being bought out of the final year of his contract – represents no risk to the Raptors, who begin training camp Tuesday in Burnaby, B.C.
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Yahoo Sports added in their report the teams that can take Bennett’s $5.8 million contract, and these are the Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers, and the Utah Jazz.
The Wolves announced earlier this week that they had reached a buyout agreement with Bennett, who would have made almost $6 million if he’d stayed with the Timberwolves.
Bennett came to Minnesota as part of the trade deal that sent former All-Star forward Kevin Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers in last year’s offseason.
Bennett has been a disappointment so far.
Bennett’s reps pushed for a buyout with Minnesota and tried to dissuade teams from claiming him on waivers.
That makes him a free agent.
However, Bennett makes a lot of sense for the Toronto Raptors as they have a void at the starting power forward position.
Canadian National Team coach Jay Triano has nothing but praise for the 22-year-old Toronto native as he coached him during the Pan-Am and FIBA Americas Tournament. Scola also plays primarily on the perimeter, though he favors long 2-pointers, having shot 44.5 percent on 2-point attempts beyond 16 feet in his career, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
Both Bennett and Toronto are surely hoping that he’ll be more comfortable and more successful playing in a supportive environment without the expectations that accompanied being selected No. 1 overall.
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Bennett played 52 games as a rookie with the Cavs.
