Photo credit: Trung Ho / TrungHo.ca
The Toronto Raptors are converting Lorenzo Brown’s two-way contract to a standard rest-of-season NBA contract ahead of the playoffs, Raptors Republic has learned.
The Raptors have an open 15th roster spot and had until Wednesday to sign a 15th player or convert one of their two-ways to an NBA deal. At this point, there’s little financial reason not to add a 15th piece for additional depth for the playoffs – the Raptors are far enough under the luxury tax line based on current estimates that one day of a prorated NBA deal won’t move the needle much, and two-way players are otherwise playoff ineligible.
The decision came down to Brown, Malcolm Miller, or potentially a free agent (the team had Nigel Hayes in on a pair of 10-day contracts in March). Miller provides defensive versatility and outside shooting, while Brown provides depth at either guard position and quickly earned the trust of the Raptors’ coaching staff in his brief appearances while with the team this year. Brown was also named G League Most Valuable Player on Tuesday, and the conversion of his deal is a further nod to the success he’s had this year helping lead Raptors 905 back to the G League Championship.
The Raptors’ roster for the postseason will look as follows:
PG: Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Delon Wright, Lorenzo Brown
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Norman Powell, Malachi Richardson
SF: OG Anunoby, C.J. Miles
PF: Serge Ibaka, Pascal Siakam, Alfonzo McKinnie
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Jakob Poeltl, Lucas Nogueira
2-way: Malcolm Miller
Miller will not be eligible to appear in playoff games but can still travel and practice with the team. McKinnie and Richardson will rejoin the parent club, too, as the 905 season came to a close on Tuesday. Expect Brown to slot in as the 13th man rather than the 15th, if you’re drawing out a specific likelihood of playoff use depth chart.
