Anthony Bennett Is Stuck in No Man's Land

Anthony Bennett is Canadian. He's a former No. 1 overall pick. And he's on his third NBA team in as many seasons. Unless you're Prime Minister Stephen Harper, you're probably aware of all those things. Bennett negotiated a $3.6 million buyout with the Minnesota Timberwolves last week and cleared waivers, which paved the way for the Toronto Raptors to sign the 22-year-old to a minimum contract. It appears to be a fresh start for Bennett, just like Minnesota was supposed to provide him with a reboot from his horrific rookie season. So, even though it feels like an ideal fit for Bennett to land on the Raptors roster, is there room to salvage his NBA career, and is it even his fault he's not getting another chance?

Before landing with the Raptors, Portland and Philadelphia—two rebuilding teams with cap room—were mentioned as potential destinations for Bennett, landing spots that many suggested would have provided him with consistent minutes. (Bennett averaged 12.8 minutes per game in his rookie season in Cleveland, and 15.7 minutes last year in Minnesota.) After all, these were teams focused on player development and not wins and losses in the present. All of this sounds good in theory, but the 76ers have their own draft picks to develop, and the Blazers signed a bunch of players this summer that would have been ahead of Bennett on their depth chart.

This is the same dilemma facing Bennett in Toronto, and really, anywhere in the NBA at the moment.

The Raptors are a win-now team. The goal this year is to get past the first round, something this core has failed to do in each of the last two seasons. Once you start listing out the names on the current roster—Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, DeMarre Carroll, Patrick Patterson, Terrence Ross, Jonas Valanciunas, Cory Joseph, James Johnson, Luis Scola, Bismack Biyombo, Delon Wright—you realize this team is already nearly set in terms of a full 12-man squad, and that rotation will certainly be trimmed down to nine or ten when the regular season starts.

Bennett simply hasn't been very good when he's been on the floor against NBA competition. He has the skill set to be a stretch four, but thus far in his career it has sounded better in theory than when it's been put in action. His jumper and 3-point shooting remains inconsistent, and he is not a strong enough individual or help defender to stay on the floor for long stretches.

Aside from not having established himself as a consistent performer in the NBA, another obstacle for Bennett getting minutes is that the league's development curve for players doesn't always mesh with a team's needs. Bennett finds himself in no man's land almost due to circumstances beyond his control. After a nightmarish rookie season in Cleveland, he had surgery to improve a sleeping condition and lost significant weight in the summer. This was a Cavs team that was focused on rebuilding around Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Bennett and incoming first-round pick Andrew Wiggins. David Blatt was hired as head coach and the team was going to be patient with its young core, which would have translated into additional minutes for Bennett and a chance to grow with this group. Instead, LeBron James decided to return to Cleveland, and the organization ditched the rebuilding plan and moved straight into contending for a championship, trading Bennett to the Timberwolves in the process.

In Minnesota, he had his opportunities at various points during the season, but Bennett landed on another team with its own priorities. Aside from Wiggins, Minnesota has arguably the best group of up-and-coming talent in the league, including Zach LaVine, Gorgui Dieng, and incoming draft pick Karl-Anthony Towns. The Wolves had no incentive to develop Bennett. He was not their first overall pick, but an additional player included in the Wiggins-for-Kevin Love swap. This is the same situation facing Bennett in Toronto.

Fair or not, the window has already closed on teams being willing to spend the time to actually find out whether he can play at the NBA level. It brings to mind a conversation I had with Charlotte Hornets assistant coach Stephen Silas, who was on Don Nelson's coaching staff when Anthony Randolph—another highly touted, but ultimately disappointing, first-round pick—was on the Golden State Warriors. Randolph clashed with Nelson, and never found a consistent role there, before he was traded and ended up bouncing around with three other teams and now plays professionally in Europe. Sometimes players never find themselves in the right situation and run out of opportunities, Silas said. The most frustrating part about Bennett's NBA career is that we might ultimately never know if he would have been a better player if he just landed in the right spot.

It is possible Bennett can still surprise everyone at training camp and not only earn a roster spot, but also work his way into Dwane Casey's rotation. A more ideal scenario for his development would be a year spent in the D-League. The Raptors, in their effort to invest more in player development, have their own D-League affiliate just a drive away in Mississauga. They'll have their own coaching staff able to communicate with Casey and Masai Ujiri on a consistent basis, while making sure Bennett's improvement is a priority. He'd also get the minutes he's yearned. Even though it wouldn't be at the NBA level, it would provide him the reps he needs in order to have a better chance at succeeding in the league for the long term.

We'll have to wait until the end of training camp to see how any of this plays out. Bennett may not even make the Raptors roster, at which point it might make sense to pursue a career overseas. He could consider the D-League as an option, as well. Or, if he does make the team, will he simply languish at the end of the bench as he has most of his first two seasons in the league?

From here, as training camp begins, it's hard to envision a scenario where Bennett will improve his NBA prospects this season, even if a return home sounds promising on paper.