The Raptors announced they have waived guard DJ Carton.
To this point, Carton had played 3 games with the Raptors 905 and 8 games across two seasons with the Toronto Raptors. With the 905 he was averaging nearly 17-7-5. The Raptors do not hold Carton’s G League rights.
Carton signed a two-way contract with the Raptors in March after originally signing a 10-day contract on Feb. 21. In eight games with Toronto, he averaged 1.8 points, 1.0 rebounds and 8.6 minutes. He has been dealing with foot and ankle injuries since early November, and despite showing a lot of defensive utility and an ability to create paint touches, the health just hasn’t been there.
The Raptors have a lot of guards available to them, even with this news about Carton. With Bruce Brown’s return seeming imminent and a more permanent move down to the G League for Jamal Shead looming, the Raptors may be looking to add a wing or forward to the roster on the now available two-way slot. It all remains to be seen.
Prior to the season, Carton told me: “It’s a win and a loss thing for me. Basketball when I first got into it, I put a lot of pressure on myself. It gave me some anxiousness, but as I’ve gotten older and matured through it I realized how much of a gift this is, and how much this game has built me into the person I am. I wouldn’t be the person I am without this game, all the trials and tribulations, all the failures I’ve had in this life – they all turned into lessons. That’s the one thing I can take from basketball.”
Hopefully he bounces back and finds a good landing spot for himself. I like DJ a lot, he’s a good man.
Have a blessed day.
