Axel Toupane signed with Toronto Raptors a partially guaranteed contract, per sources. He'll go to training camp & try to make the team
— Sportando (@Sportando) July 16, 2015
As per reports, the Raptors have signed French small forward Axel Toupane (plays for Strasbourg) to a deal which would see him get a training camp invite. Blake has you covered on what a “partially guaranteed” deal really means:
A partially-guaranteed contract doesn’t really mean much here. Teams give out plenty of partial guarantees in the offseason, essentially securing the player for the summer and into the fall with a token salary. Will Cherry received a $25,000-guarantee last summer, for example, giving him an incentive to come to camp with the Raptors over another team but costing the Raptors little in the way of actual salary. The amount that gets guaranteed counts toward the salary cap and luxury tax calculations, but Roberts’ non-guaranteed amount is almost surely the $525,093 minimum and the guaranteed amount small – they matter, but with the team so far from the tax and unlikely to use their remaining cap space – they’re words, not mine – this doesn’t move the needle much.
Basically, this type of deal often stands as a sort of “offseason contract.”
Toupane was undrafted in 2014 and has played two games in summer league averaging 11.5 minutes, 4.5 points and 1.3 rebounds. He went undrafted This would bring the number of guaranteed and partially-guaranteed players to 16 since they signed Ronald Roberts to the same deal. So, at this point we have one training camp cut guaranteed. Here’s a little bit more about the native of Mulhouse, France:
The French guard has made a name for himself by playing hard-nosed defense. With his excellent wingspan, he is a great on-ball defender who can put pressure full-court over stretches. He is very active in the passing lanes and can generate early offenses with his aggressiveness. Offensively, Toupane does a bit of everything but he needs to become more regular as a shooter. He can attack the basket but his jump shot is shaky despite a very high release point. In catch-and-shoot situations, he is more regular but he often loses his balance when going for the pull-up jumper out of the dribble. Toupane’s future could be in a 3&D role on the highest level if he can develop his shooting percentages to a different level as he has all the necessary physical tools to play in the NBA.
There’s also more on Axel Toupane at Scout Basketball:
