Former Cav Anthony Bennett cut from Fenerbahce Instanbul
Anthony Bennett, who was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, has been cut from yet another team.
Anthony Bennett, who was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, was just cut from the Euroleague’s Fenerbahce Instanbul, according to Bugra Uzar of EuroHoops.net.
Bennett was waived by the Brooklyn Nets in January,
Fenerbahce is in the Euroleague’s Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL), the Euroleague circuit where David Blatt currently coaches the Darüşşafaka Dogus and Cedi Osman currently plays for Anadolu Efes.
Bennett was waived in order for the team to make room for former NBA center Pero Antic as the team has limited roster spots for international players (again, the team in based in Turkey). In fact, former NBA players Ekpe Udoh, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Jan Vesely and James Nunnally also play for Fenerbahce.
Things have not gone well for Anthony Bennett since the draft.
After Bennett struggled with his weight, confidence and jump shot in his rookie season, averaging just 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting 35.6 percent from the field, 24.5 percent shooting from three-point range and 63.8 percent from three-point range, he was already dodging being labeled as the biggest bust in NBA history.
Then, as James announced his return in a letter detailing his reasons for signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers and what he hoped to accomplish while there, he curiously left Bennett and first overall pick Andrew Wiggins off that letter while citing his excitement to be a mentor to Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters.
"“I see myself as a mentor now and I’m excited to lead some of these talented young guys. I think I can help Kyrie Irving become one of the best point guards in our league. I think I can help elevate Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters. And I can’t wait to reunite with Anderson Varejao, one of my favorite teammates.” – LeBron James"
In what was a move that you could see coming from a mile away, with Kevin Love feuding with Flip Saunders in Minnesota and the team fielding offers for him, James’ success with a similar player in Chris Bosh, and the exclusion of both Bennett and first overall pick Andrew Wiggins in the letter, the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Bennett (along with Wiggins) to the Minnesota Timberwolves that summer in a blockbuster deal that ended up with Kevin Love in the Land.
He was improved in his sophomore year, averaging 5.2 points (and 3.8 rebounds) per game on 42.1 percent shooting from the field, 30.4 percent shooting from three-point range and 64.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
However, he only played in 57 games, playing 15.7 minutes per contest. In his rookie season, Bennett played in 52 games, averaging 12.8 minutes per game.
Not being able to step on the court for teams that finished 33-49 (Cavs) and 16-66 (Timberwolves) is not a good sign. While he was “improving”, he was still far from reaching any semblance of the expectations team’s had for him when he was coming in.
Bennett was a stretch-four who still managed to do damage inside coming out of the University of Las Vegas (UNLV), where he played for one season. In his freshman year, his sole season playing for UNLV, he averaged 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game while shooting 37.5 percent from three-point range.
He ran the floor well, could handle the ball, finished above the rim, shot the ball well from behind the arc and was a bully inside the paint. He was deserving of being a top pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. Maybe not “the” top pick but nobody would have questioned him being selected in the top five. Nobody.
He signed with the Toronto Raptors in the 2015-2016 season after playing well for the Canadian national team during the 2015 Pan American Games.
He averaged 15.6 points and 10.4 rebounds while shooting 58.0 percent from the field and 43.7 percent from three-point range and was probably the best player on Canada’s silver medal squad.
A Toronto-native, signing with the Raptors was supposed to be a storybook homecoming for Bennett, especially after his play in the Pan Am Games.
General manager Masai Ujiri said that it was a long-term move, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
"“We look at giving Anthony an opportunity to actually grow and be a player,” Ujiri said. “It’s not a one-year thing here. It’s going to take time. All that No. 1 pick and all that stuff, we had a conversation with him. Let’s move on from that. Now it’s about how you become a very good NBA player, which we all know he can be.”"
He was waived on March 1st after spending most of the season with the team’s NBA D-League affiliate, the Raptors 905. He played in 19 games for the Raptors, averaging 1.5 points per game and 1.2 rebounds per game while shooting 29.6 percent from the field and 21.4 percent shooting from three-point range in 4.4 minutes per contest.
Ujiri said it had nothing to do with Bennett’s play and he’s right. Bennett didn’t play enough for those eye-sore stats to have much significance.
Quote transcribed by SportsNet’s Jeff Simmons:
"“It’s not anything Anthony did wrong,” Raptors GM Masai Ujiri said Tuesday at a media availability with local reporters. “I probably put him a tough situation. I feel he needs to be somewhere where he can play. Playing time was going to be tough. I take responsibility for that because it wasn’t the kid’s fault. People keep saying he’s talented and he’ll get a chance. It just has to be a team with opportunity to play.”"
For the record, Bennett only played in six games for the Raptors 905, starting in four. He averaged 9.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game but only shot 33.9 percent from the field and 25.0 percent from three-point range.
He signed with the Brooklyn Nets, who seemed to have taken a liking to discarded Cavs, in July after putting up 6.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Canadian national team during the Olympic qualifiers in the Philippines. He played 19.0 minutes per game as the Canadian national team once again earned a silver medal. He shot 55.6 percent from the floor, looking much improved from a conditioning standpoint.
He appeared in 23 contests for the Brooklyn Nets, averaging 5.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 41.3 percent from the field and 27.1 percent from the three-point line.
He also played 2 games with Brooklyn’s NBA D-League affiliate, the Long Island Nets.
He averaged 18.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in those two contests, shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from the free-throw line.
He signed with Fenerbahce Instanbul three days after being waived by the 20-62 Brooklyn Nets.
Whatever the next stop is for Bennett, this is a story where we hope there’s a happy ending for the former overall pick.
Looking at these quotes from Bennett, transcribed by Yahoo Sports’ Marc J. Spears, you want to pull for the guy:
"“Going No. 1 made history for Canada. For myself, it was a big accomplishment, but it’s a lot of work.”"
"“It’s a learning process,” Bennett said. “Nothing is going to come overnight. I’m not focused on what other people think.”"
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What do you think of how Anthony Bennett’s career has panned out so far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.
*All stats referenced by www.basketball-reference.com and basketball.realgm.com.