Raptors sign former top-10 pick

The Raptors signed free-agent swingman Justise Winslow, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. Camp invitee Makur Maker was waived to make room on the roster for Winslow, according to Murphy, who confirms that Maker is on track to join the Raptors 905, Toronto’s G League affiliate.

Winslow got an Exhibit 10 deal, according to Murphy (Twitter link). As Murphy explains, the plan is for Winslow to start the season with the 905 and – if he shows he’s healthy – get back on the radar of NBA teams.

Winslow, the 10th overall pick in the 2015 draft, has spent time with the Grizzlies, Clippers, and Trail Blazers since playing in Miami for the first five years of his NBA career.

He played well down the stretch in 2021/22 for Portland after being acquired in the Norman Powell/Robert Covington trade, but his ’22/23 campaign was cut short by an ankle injury, which required surgery in March. Before the procedure, the 27-year-old averaged 6.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 19 games (26.8 MPG) on .409/.311/.714 shooting.

We don’t have any details yet on the terms of Winslow’s contract, but it’s rare for a player signed this late in the preseason to make a team’s regular season roster — especially a team like Toronto, which has 15 players on guaranteed contracts and Jeff Dowtin fighting to supplant one of those players on the 15-man squad.

If Winslow received a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract, he would receive a bonus worth up to $75K if he’s waived by Toronto and then spends at least 60 days with the Raptors 905 in the G League. As noted above, that’s the plan for Maker.