Raptors must make Mo Bamba decision soon

Mo Bamba is on a non-guaranteed contract with the Toronto Raptors.

New Orleans Pelicans center Mo Bamba and Detroit Pistons forward Lindy Waters III. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

The Toronto Raptors will soon have to make a decision regarding Mo Bamba's future.

The team signed Bamba a week ago to potentially add depth to the centre rotation with Jakob Poeltl on the sidelines with a back injury, but the former lottery pick has not seen the court very much for Toronto.

The Raptors only have two more games until his contract guarantee deadline, so the team needs to figure out if he is worth keeping or not.

New Orleans Pelicans center Mo Bamba dribbles against Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Bamba contract deadline fast approaching

The Raptors have found success with Scottie Barnes playing the five and Colin Murray-Boyles has been a good fit next to him in the frontcourt. There's reason to believe the Raptors might stick with what they have aside from Bamba at the centre spot.

The Raptors scouted Bamba well at the G League Showcase and thought that he could produce on the NBA level, but they haven't really put that to the test quite yet.

"Most of the Raptors front office were in Orlando over the weekend watching the Raptors 905, Toronto's affiliate team at the NBA G League's Winter Showcase. The 905 lost in the Final — snapping a record 16-game win streak — to the Utah Jazz’s G League affiliate, but not all was lost as the Raptors got a front-row look at Mo Bamba, the enigmatic, though talented centre who was the 6th player taken in the 2018 draft by the Orlando Magic. And Bamba looked great," Sportsnet reporter Michael Grange wrote.

"He helped Salt Lake City to the Cup title by contributing 16.5 points on 68 per cent shooting while grabbing 15 rebounds (four offensive), dishing three assists and blocking two shots across the Semifinal and Final. He hit all of his free throws and two threes on three attempts. He’s shooting 40 per cent from distance for the season in the G League."

Bamba has played in six minutes across just two games for the Raptors in the past week, grabbing just one rebound for the team.

Update: Raptors have waived Mo Bamba, but could bring him back on a 10-day contract if he were to clear the waiver wire, per TSN reporter Josh Lewenberg.

The Raptors are visiting the Hornets on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET inside the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. Fans can watch the game on TSN Sports or stream it on NBA League Pass.