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This post might be redundant very soon, but since the tidbit comes from Zach Lowe, who is one of the most plugged in reporters in the NBA, it's worth mentioning:
Hmm, this paragraph from @ZachLowe_NBA... http://t.co/RcgNE0ucT4 pic.twitter.com/9bPgsiEYsF
— Trilliam Lou (@william_lou) September 23, 2015
Anthony Bennett, as you may know, reached a buyout agreement with the Timberwolves this week, and was placed on waivers. If he clears waivers after 48 hours, he can sign for the minimum (which is what the Raptors can afford to offer him given their cap situation, which was discussed on our podcast this week).
I get the whole "he's Canadian, of course the Raptors are interested" thing, but only to a point. Masai Ujiri is not under some mandate to snap up players because of their nationality (and if he was, well, we have Cory Joseph now, so he's probably hit the imaginary quota that management set for him). He's going to pick up players based on fit and if there's enough of a risk-reward incentive for him to do so.
If Bennett clears waivers, and I'm not sure he does since there are a lot of floundering teams who might want to give a player of his age and skill set a look, I'm sure the Raptors would be open to exploring the possibility of signing him. After all, at the minimum, there's not much risk. Of course, whether Bennett wants to come home and be a benchwarmer remains to be seen.
At this point, the best thing for him would be to go to a place where he can get minutes (I have my doubts whether he would actually get as many minutes as some think if he ended up in Philadelphia or Portland, but that's another discussion), and to be honest, I'm not even sure if the NBA is the right fit for him if that's the purpose.
But all of this is venturing more into Bennett's long-term future as a basketball player, and we can talk about that another time. For now, he's out there, waiting to be claimed, and if he's not, the Raptors might be a destination.
Sounds okay to me.