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Anthony Bennett is one of the greatest busts in professional sports. Whatever small chance he had left to salvage a career in the NBA is now gone, after Bennett’s hometown Toronto Raptors waived the former No. 1 overall pick.
The Raptors were Bennett’s third team in three seasons after failed stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The 22-year-old from UNLV had no excuses this time around. In Cleveland, he was the No. 1 pick and in Minnesota he was part of the Kevin Love trade, but in Toronto he had the chance to learn on a playoff team and get better. He failed.
Bennett only appeared in 19 games this season, averaging 4.4 minutes on 1.5 points and 1.4 rebounds, while shooting 30.8 percent from the field. You can’t make up that brutal of a stat line. During his brief tenure with the Raptors, Bennett played just 84 minutes and attempted only 26 field goals, 14 of them being from downtown. Perhaps the worst stat of his season however, being re-assigned to the D-League on four separate occasions.
It’s funny to look back at some of the scouting reports praising Bennett when he came into the league. Every single one says the same thing — the kid can shoot. He shot 37.5 percent from behind the 3-point line in college, but the transition has been difficult. Bennett’s just 23 of 90 in his NBA career from deep, good for 25.6 percent. The kid is a perfect example of how wrong teams can be.
The opportunity was there in 2015-16 for Bennett. They even marketed his signing, and no other team in the league would’ve done that. The Raptors and their fans really wanted Anthony Bennett to succeed.
It’s not like the Raptors are loaded at the forward position either. Patrick Patterson is having the worst season of his career, and DeMarre Carroll has been out for most of the second half so there were minutes to be had. The simple answer is that Anthony Bennett just isn’t that good.
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