December 10th 2024 at 5:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder
Injuries apparently played a role in the Raptors decision to waive two-way player DJ Carton.
With Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and Bruce Brown dealing with injuries, Toronto wanted to add depth. Carton couldn’t provide that in the short run because he’s expected to miss 3-4 weeks with an ankle injury, Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype tweets.
It’s possible that Carton will be re-signed at some point, Scotto adds.
We have more on the Raptors:
While the team awaits an update on Barnes, who injured his right ankle and foot against the Knicks on Monday, RJ Barrett will have to ramp up his production while Barnes mends, Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes. Barrett wound up with 30 points, eight rebounds and four assists against his former team, and did his best to get the Raptors good looks in crunch time, Koreen notes. However, after this season Barrett could see a much different role if the Raptors get a high lottery pick who commands a high percentage of the offense.
Quickley had more imaging done on his injured left elbow that has kept him out since Nov. 10, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. He’s progressing, per the Raptors, but he still hasn’t been cleared to ramp up or practice. There’s still no timeline for his return.
In an extensive interview with Michael Grange of Sportsnet, Barrett says that playing for coach Darko Rajakovic has been a boon for his career. “He’s very, you know, straight to the point, but very encouraging, very encouraging. He believes in me,” Barrett said. “Whenever a coach has that spirit, you want to run through a wall for him.” Barrett still has two years and over $57MM remaining on his contract but that might be considered a bargain with the way he’s expanded his game since he was acquired from the Knicks.