Toronto Raptors reportedly set to sign Tremont Waters to help depleted roster

As more Toronto Raptors players enter health and safety protocols, the team continues its reported search for temporary contracts to fill the void.

The Toronto Raptors continue to see a number of their roster placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocol, leaving them with very few players to put out on the court should games continue to be played.

Gary Trent Jr joined Pascal Siakam and Dalano Banton yesterday, while it has been recently announced that Fred VanVleet and Malachi Flynn have now been added to the growing list as the picture league-wide looks bleak.

With the Raptors taking hit after hit to their roster, it was reported yesterday that the team would be looking to bring in Juwan Morgan and Brandon Goodwin to temporary contracts through the NBA’s hardship exception.

Now, it appears that the further losses will see more players given temporary deals in order for the Raptors to simply put a team onto the court.

Per the Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Raptors are set to bring in guard Tremont Waters in on a ten-day hardship contract, with the losses of fellow guards VanVleet and Flynn clearly driving the decision.

Waters was a second round (51st overall) selection of the Boston Celtics in the 2019 Draft and has some experience playing in the NBA, although it has almost exclusively come from the bench.

During his two-season stint with the Celtics, Waters averaged 9.6 minutes in 37 games, throwing .361 from the field and averaging 3.8 points, 2.1 assists and 0.6 rebounds per game.

His rookie season saw him play in just 11 games, spending the majority of his time in the NBA G League with the then-named Maine Red Claws – where he earned himself the G League’s Rookie of the Year award.

This season, having signed for and then been waived by the Milwaukee Bucks, Waters has been playing with the Bucks’ G League affiliates the Wisconsin Herd, who currently sit atop the Showcase Cup’s Central Division with a 9-3 record.

While playing 31.5 minutes a game for the Herd, Waters has averaged 17.2 points, six assists, 2.7 steals and 2.5 rebounds (2.2 defensive), showing good skills across the floor but having little impact around the rim.

If his signing becomes official, the 23-year-old New Haven, Connecticut native will provide the Raptors with another young player with some NBA experience as the team looks to navigate through a difficult winter period.