The Toronto Raptors waived veteran forward PJ Tucker.
Tucker was drafted by Toronto in 2006 in the second round. He then came back to the franchise during the 2016-17 season and was traded back at this year’s trade deadline.
The 39-year-old was acquired along with a second-round pick in exchange for Davion Mitchell, who was dealt to the Miami Heat. This was a part of a five-team deal that sent Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors.
As expected when this massive trade went down, the 13-year veteran never stepped foot onto the court for Toronto. Tucker wants to play winning basketball and the Raptors are not the destination for him.
By parting ways, this opens up a roster spot for Toronto. Which allows them to possibly elevate one of their two-way players into a standard contract or sign a free agent, via Blake Murphy of Sportsnet:
The Raptors have waived PJ Tucker, opening up a roster spot.
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) February 28, 2025
Murphy mentions a key date that being March 4, which is the deadline to sign two-way plays to regular NBA contracts. A name that is brought up is Orlando Robinson, who the Raptors have plugged into their frontcourt.
Elevating Robinson means that Toronto could bring in another player to fill his two-way spot. With only two days until then, it will be intriguing to see what the Raptors do.
The 24-year-old center has been serviceable behind Jakob Poeltl with Kelly Olynyk gone. He is averaging a career-high 5.5 points and 4.1 rebounds on 44.0 percent shooting from the field.
Perhaps, it may be worth converting Robinson to further develop him going forward while signing a new prospect on a two-way contract.
Toronto betting favorite to land 76ers’ Joel Embiid
Despite PJ Tucker opting not to play for the Raptors, Toronto wants to win sooner rather than later.
How they continue on that trajectory will be interesting whether that be through drafting or free agency. With Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid’s future possibly in question, the Raptors are the betting favorite to land the former MVP.
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