Masai Ujiri answered your prayers and signed summer league breakout star Norman Powell to contract!
https://twitter.com/RaptorsMR/status/621420508488331264
Terms of the deal were not released, per team policy. Let’s hope Powell signed a 3-year deal, because that would give the Raptors full bird rights to retain him when he develops into the second coming of Dwyane Wade a solid rotation piece. Summer league connoisseur Blake Murphy has you covered with the logic in locking up Powell.
That would mean the Raptors need to sign Powell at some point, and I’d recommend doing so on a three- or four-year contract.
As a second round pick, Powell is not bound by the rookie wage scale. That gives the Raptors two options to sign him: Use a minimum salary exception to sign him to a one- or two-year deal, or use a piece of their roughly $2.5 million in available cap space to sign Powell beyond two years.
It may be reactionary to suggest, but I favor using cap space to land him on a three-year deal, especially if he’s amenable to numbers close to the minimum, or a non-guaranteed third year. Going three years gives the Raptors Powell’s Bird rights, helping protect the Raptors from a predatory offer sheet when he reaches restricted free agency (note that signing him to a four-year deal is unfavorable, as he’d be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the contract). A three-year deal at the minimum would pay Powell $2.4 million in total, and would cost them $525,093 of their remaining $2.59 million in cap space, leaving them with one open roster spot (not including Roberts).
Blake (who is NOT Powell’s player agent, in case you were wondering), also wrote up an excellent player profile on Powell on Monday.
Keep that role in mind. Powell probably isn’t going to be a star. He needs to continue to improve his range, work on finding teammates better off the bounce, and prove that he can defend against the next level of athlete. So far, everything looks good, and he’s doing about as well as imaginable with what’s been put in front of him in Vegas.
Landing just about anything with the No. 46 pick is hitting on a lottery ticket. Powell may not be a Manu Ginobili-esque Powerball victory, but it seems the Raptors may have something here.
Powell has been the Raptors’ best player in summer league action, helping the team to a 3-0 record. Powell drafted with the 46th pick, which the Raptors acquired through the Greivis Vasquez trade. The 22-year-old Powell played four years at UCLA before making the jump. Depending on how the rest of summer league and preseason go, Powell could see some minutes as a backup wing next year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbXgCnpXooc
