Title: Raptors camp battles: Handicapping the race for the final roster and 2-way spots
Date: December 1, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I broke down the roster spot battles that will take place in Raptors training camp.
How much is guaranteed, really?
The financial terms of such a question are laid out in each NBA contract. Most are fully guaranteed; no matter what a team thinks of a player or decides to do with him, he gets his money. A good number are partially guaranteed, offering a bit of floor in the event plans change or a camp goes poorly. Others guarantee nothing whatsoever, financially or existentially.
Most players have something to play for in training camp, in the preseason and game to game when the season officially begins. Stanley Johnson may be guaranteed his $3.8 million salary, but he is guaranteed nothing else about his basketball present. Yuta Watanabe and Alize Johnson are guaranteed nothing but opportunity, however small. Some teams enter camp with a roster spot or two wide open to foster competition and to open a helpful evaluation window. The Toronto Raptors are doing a bit of everything in Tampa, Fla., over the next three weeks.
And so we’ve come to one of my favourite annual pieces, where we try to figure out who will be on the opening-night roster.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 