The Toronto Raptors have waived Mo Bamba.
Mo Bamba cut from Raptors roster shortly after signing with the team
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According to several insiders, the deal was supposed to be guaranteed through the rest of the 2025-26 season if the Raptors hadn’t waived him by tomorrow’s deadline. But in the end, the team decided not to retain Bamba on a guaranteed contract.
ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania first broke the news on December 28 that the sixth overall selection in the 2018 NBA Draft would be joining the Raptors on a one-year deal, whose financial terms were never officially disclosed. The Raptors organization made things official on December 29 with a press release of their own, and Bamba was cleared as an active member of the roster on that same day.
He made his franchise debut against his former Magic team, where he played just four minutes and recorded one block. Bamba did not play in the Raptors' subsequent contest against Denver on New Year's Eve — something I highlighted as [an ideal chance to test out their new addition](https://raptorsrapture.com/raptors-missed-key-chance-adequately-test-latest-acquisition-mo-bamba-nuggets) — with his next opportunity to suit up for the Raps coming on January 3 against Atlanta. In that game, he logged just two minutes of playing time, going 0-for-2 from the field and recording two rebounds.
So, overall, Bamba’s time with the Raptors was pretty brief — just two games, with an average of only 3.0 minutes per appearance. Even though he's not the most adept player at his position, it's pretty odd he didn’t get a bigger minutes sample to see what he can do — whether that’s on Bamba or the coaching staff for not carving out even a minimal role during the four games they could’ve used him.
However, the plot thickens, so to speak, when we realize that Bamba _could_ very well be on his way back to the Raptors, even with news of his departure today. It was obvious Toronto didn’t want to keep Bamba on a guaranteed deal, but even after waiving him, the Raptors are still free to bring him back on up to two 10-day contracts once he clears waivers later this week — as Raptors insider Josh Lewenberg [pointed out on X](https://x.com/JLew1050/status/2008567956540977312?s=20).
That being said, it doesn’t seem like the Mo Bamba experiment is completely over just yet. Maybe in this potential second run with the team, they might finally find a way to incorporate him into the rotation.