The Toronto Raptors have officially made their final cut.
After a tough battle for the final two roster spots, the Raptors have reportedly parted ways with Ishmail Wainright, according to Spotrac's Keith Smith. Toronto will therefore keep Sam Dekker, Isaac Bonga, and, of course, Yuta Watanabe who will all see their contracts guarantee.
There was certainly nothing easy about this decision, Raptors coach Nick Nurse said Friday. All three of Bonga, Dekker, and Wainright had impressive showings in Toronto's final two preseason games and there were good reasons to keep all of them. Ultimately, it appears Toronto went with the upside of Bonga, a 21-year-old 6-foot-8 point forward, if you will, and Dekker, the 27-year-old sharpshooter who should provide some much needed floor spacing.
While Wainright could have provided a little more strength to a thin Raptors roster, he was a bit redundant as another 6-foot-6 defense-first forward.
With Wainright waived, Toronto's roster is now complete. Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Fred VanVleet, Chris Boucher, Khem Birch, Precious Achiuwa, Goran Dragic, Scottie Barnes, Gary Trent Jr., Malachi Flynn, Dalano Banton, and Svi Mykhailiuk will be joined by Watanabe, Dekker, and Bonga, along with David Johnson and Justin Champagnie on two-way deals.
The season will tip-off on October 20 against the Washington Wizards at Scotiabank Arena.
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