Raptors Sign Former Nets Defensive Stopper Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to 1-Year Deal
By Karl Rasmussen
The Toronto Raptors lost out on Kawhi Leonard, as he opted to join the Los Angeles Clippers. Now that Leonard is officially gone, the Raptors can start to focus on the future and attempt to uncover a few more gems for the 2019-20 season and retool.
Well, they got to work doing just that on Sunday evening, as they signed Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to a one-year deal, per Shams Charania.
Free agent forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has agreed to a one-year deal with the Toronto Raptors, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Hollis-Jefferson gets fresh opportunity in Raptors development system and sets himself up for 2020 free agency.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 7, 2019
Hollis-Jefferson has spent his first four seasons in the league with the Brooklyn Nets, but the team did not extend an offer to him when he hit free agency, having spent their money on Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.
The 24-year-old had a down year riddled with injury in 2018-19, seeing his stats decrease across the board. He averaged 8.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and shot just 18.4% from beyond the arc while averaging 20.9 minutes of game time.
Report: Raptors sign Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to 1-year deal. https://t.co/RDUZZVBHzS pic.twitter.com/GKrbKodXPV
— theScore (@theScore) July 7, 2019
The former Arizona Wildcat saw his role decrease in Brooklyn, and following their marquee acquisitions, his future with the team was all but gone.
He'll be playing on a prove-it deal in Toronto as he gears up to hit the open market once again next summer. Hopefully he can play his way into long-term security.