Raptors waive Sagaba Konate, trim roster to 19
Toronto has begun its roster cut-down ahead of Tuesday’s opener.
The Raptors have started cutting the fat ahead of next week’s Ring Night / season-opener. Per a tweet from the team’s media relations crew, Toronto has waived big man Sagaba Konate, leaving 19 players left in camp.
Konate latched on with the Raptors after going undrafted out of West Virginia, and only got into five minutes of preseason action with the team — a four-point, one-rebound outing that pseudo-NBA game against the Bulls on Sunday.
Konate was in camp on an Exhibit-10 deal, which guarantees a player a little bit of money (between $5,000 and $50,000) if they’re waived and they report to / play for the G-League affiliate, much like Kennedy Meeks was a couple years back. The 905 would appear to be Konate’s next destination.
Toronto’s roster sitch now looks something like this:
For sure / almost definitely on the team — Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell, OG Anunoby, Patrick McCaw (blah), Stanley Johnson (double blah), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Matt Thomas, Terence Davis, Chris Boucher (non-guaranteed, but he’ll be there)
Not for sure on the team — Malcolm Miller, Dewan Hernandez, Oshae Brissett, Isaiah Taylor, Cameron Payne, Devin Robinson
The guys in the latter group are fighting for what appear to be two available spots on the main roster (three if you want to lump Boucher in with them), and a pair of two-way deals.
Based on what smart people like Blake Murphy have suggested on various platforms, Brissett seems a smart bet to earn one of the two-ways. Consider me pro-Taylor when it comes to the second. It would be pretty stupid if Cam Payne makes the team ahead of Malcolm Miller, but it’s on the table considering the lack of proven point guard depth on the roster.
Friday’s preseason game will probably decide the fates of a bunch of these guys. Now we wait.