Raptors waive two players, create a roster spot

The Toronto Raptors are clearing up a bit of roster space.

Today, the organization announced that they’d waived Sasha Vezenkov and Javon Freeman-Liberty, clearing up an NBA roster spot in the process.

Sportsnet’s Blake Murphy reported that the Raptors had negotiated a buyout with Vezenkov, opening the door for a possible return to Europe.

Vezenkov is leaving the entire $6,658,536 on the table in the buyout, per a source.

The Raptors pay $0. He has no cap hit any longer.

— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) July 22, 2024

Vezenkov, who was born in Cyprus but also holds Bulgarian and Greek nationality, is one of the sport’s most popular players in Europe. Having won the 2023 EuroLeague MVP with the Greece-based Olympiacos, Vezenkov has a lengthy list of accomplishments while playing on his home continent.

“We’re still going through that situation,” Raptors president Masai Ujiri said on July 8, as per Sportsnet’s Michael Grange. “I had conversations with Sasha, his representatives, [Raptors GM] Bobby [Webster], coach. And I think that should develop in the next few days or we’ll see whether it’s a few months. We acquired a player in a trade and we feel we have communicated well. We communicated well with the agent and the team before. And so we’ll see how that goes.”

Vezenkov averaged 5.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.5 steals in 42 games for the Kings in his first NBA season.

Meanwhile, Freeman-Liberty averaged 7.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 22 games for the Raptors in the 2023-24 season. He was due an extra $50,000 in salary via guarantees on July 23, per Murphy, meaning the organization made the move today as a cost-saving measure shortly after the conclusion of the 2024 NBA Summer League.

The Raptors currently have 12 players under contract for next season via Spotrac and three players on two-way contracts.

[dh_you_miight_also_like]