Raptors Finalize Roster With Watson & Watanabe Making Final Cut
Paul Watson Jr. will be sticking with the Toronto Raptors this season after signing a standard two-year minimum deal, according to The Athletic's Blake Murphy.
Watson and Yuta Watanabe were the final two Raptors to make the cut for the 2020-21 season, the team announced Sunday. Watanabe, a 26-year-old wing who played primarily the Memphis Hustle in the G-League last season, earned a two-way contract.
The news came after the Raptors announced they'd be waiving Canadian Oshae Brissett, Henry Ellenson, and Alize Johnson.
The road to the NBA has been a circuitous one for the 25-year-old Watson. He spent four seasons at Fresno State before going undrafted in 2017. After a very brief, one-game stint in Germany, Watson returned home, joining the G-League with the Westchester Knicks.
"He's got a long, athletic, defensive kind of makeup, shooting's really improved," Nurse said in early December. "He looked great in some of our minicamp stuff we did before getting here this summer. Went out to see him two times out working out when he was working out with Pascal. Worked really hard. You could noticeably see an uptick in improvement, just in, again, mindset, the way he's moving out there, the confidence that he has attacking, and all those kind of things."
Watson got the news shortly after the Raptors final preseason game. He was called into a room with the front office and told they were going to keep him around on a standard contract.
"I still can’t really put it into words, but all I can say is it’s a blessing to get this opportunity," Watson said. "I’m very grateful for it and I’m just ready to continue to work and get this thing rolling and ready to go hard."
It's unlikely Watson will see much playing time this season considering how much depth the Raptors have in their frontcourt this season. He'll likely fit in somewhere near the back end of the bench, behind Matt Thomas, Terence Davis II, Malachi Flynn, and DeAndre' Bembry, but it's certainly a big step for his career.
As for Watanabe, a two-way contract is a little more important this season considering the NBA's new COVID-19 rules that allow two-way players to play in 72 of the team's and fully travel and practice with the NBA team. The deal for him comes on the heels of two impressive seasons in the G-League in which he averaged 15 points while starting in 54 of 55 games with the Hustle.
"I think Yuta's ready to accept that challenge and see what he can do with us, and try to make some noise," Raptors assistant coach Jama Mahlalela. "He shoots the ball really well, better than I think his stats maybe show. But most importantly, he plays the game the right way. He plays defense the way we want him to play. He does all the little things. And he's a great teammate. Guys love him."
