Report: Raptors 905 add C.J. Leslie

The Raptors 905 roster is taking shape less than a week from the start of training camp.

On the heels of the news that Axel Toupane will return to the organization, Chris Reichert of The Step Back reports that C.J. Leslie will also be headed to the Hershey Centre. (And shout out to Chris, the king of D-League news and a good friend of the site.)

The news is at least a little surprising, as Leslie reportedly signed a deal with JH Rodriguez in the Dominican Republic this offseason. It’s likely the deal was fairly easy to get out of, although information is pretty hard to come by for that circuit. Prior to signing with JH Rodriguez, Leslie spent the 2015-16 season split between Hapoel Eliat in Israel and AEK Larnaca in Cyrpus, joining the latter after being waived by the former in January. Over those two stops, Leslie averaged 8.7 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 47.4 percent from the floor.

A standout at NC State who went undrafted in 2013, Leslie’s since spent time in the D-League, Korea, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico, in addition to the Dominican, Israel, and Cyprus. He’ll now get to add Canada to quite the passport he’s developed in three short years. A former All-ACC Second-Team player and ACC All-Freshman Team member, Leslie played his way onto the D-League’s All-Rookie Third Team in 2013-14, averaging 12.1 points and 5.8 rebounds with Erie and Idaho. The New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings have both given the 25-year-old Leslie shots in Summer League, too, and he attended training camp with the Knicks in 2013-14.

The 6-foot-9 power forward will provide the 905 with some additional frontcourt depth when the parent club’s rookies are not on assignment. The 905 now have seven players confirmed for camp, another likely name in Yanick Moreira, minor question marks in James Siakam and Ashton Smith, four draft picks to use Sunday, and the ability to invite four players from open tryouts. The 905 can enter the season with 12 non-assignment players on the roster, plus up to an additional three assignments at a time once the season begins Nov. 18.