Report: Raptors add Henry Ellenson, extend camp invites to two more
The Raptors will bring in Yuta Watanabe and Alize Johnson alongside Ellenson.
NBA training camps open next week (!) and as such, the Toronto Raptors are filling out their camp roster and creating some end-of-bench competition.
The Athletic’s Blake Murphy is reporting that the Raptors are brining Henry Ellenson, Yuta Watanabe and Alize Johnson to camp:
The Raptors are signing Henry Ellenson to a two-year minimum deal with $50K guaranteed, per a source.
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) November 27, 2020
Effectively a camp deal with a small guarantee (not an Ex.10).
Yuta Watanabe and Alize Johnson will also be in camp with the Raptors.
Camp roster at 19, unofficially.
As Murphy notes, the Raptors’ roster now stands at 19. Teams are allowed to bring 20 players to camp, and must cut their full roster down to a maximum of 15 players, along with two two-way contracts, before the season.
Ellenson, a 6’10” power forward, started 17 games for Raptors 905 in 2019-20, and averaged an impressive 21.8 points and 9.2 rebounds in 36.4 minutes per night. He also flashed extended range, hitting 42.6% of his 6.4 three-point attempts per game, and finished the year with an eye-popping .717 true shooting percentage. The guaranteed $50,000 is a nice get for the 23-year-old.
Watanabe spent the past two seasons on a two-way contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, appearing in limited minutes across 33 games. The 6’8” forward also played 54 games with the G-League’s Memphis Hustle, where he averaged 15.4 points and 6.7 boards on 48% shooting, including 34% from downtown.
Johnson, meanwhile, was a 2018 second-round pick of the Indiana Pacers. A 6’7” forward, Johnson played 31 games with the Pacers over two seasons. He too spent much of his time in the G-League, where he averaged 19.5 points and 13.4 (!) rebounds in 50 games with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
All three seem to fit the Nick Nurse mold of players who can shoot the basketball and have the potential to play multiple positions on the floor.
For the record, here’s how Toronto’s roster stands at the moment:
- Kyle Lowry
- Pascal Siakam
- Fred VanVleet
- OG Anunoby
- Norman Powell
- Chris Boucher
- Terence Davis
- Matt Thomas
- Patrick McCaw
- Stanley Johnson
- Aron Baynes
- Alex Len
- DeAndre’ Bembry
- Paul Watson Jr. (two-way)
- Malachi Flynn
- Jalen Harris
- Henry Ellenson
- Yuta Watanabe
- Alize Johnson
Terence Davis’ status remains up in the air (at least, we think it does; its’ unclear what the Raptors think), and Oshae Brissett remains an unsigned restricted free agent. We’re pulling for Oshae to fill spot #20!
Players are required to report to their local market for testing starting Monday, November 30; for the Raptors, that means Saint Leo University, north of Tampa. Group practices begin on December 4.