Article content continued

Glad to officially be a part of the Raptors organization, Excited to get this year started !!! #LetsGo — Anthony Bennett (@AnthonyBennett) September 27, 2015

The Canadian has had a rough two seasons in the NBA since he was the surprise No. 1 overall pick drafted by Cleveland in 2013.

He battled injuries in both his rookie season with the Cavaliers, and second season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he landed in the Kevin Love deal.

Bennett averaged 5.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in 57 games for the Timberwolves last season.

The Timberwolves placed Bennett on waivers last week and after clearing them, Bennett took a $3.65 million buyout from his now former team.

The Timberwolves have a load of power forwards on the roster, including Kevin Garnett, 2015 No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns, Euroleague MVP Nemanja Bjelica and Adreian Payne in addition to Shabazz Muhammad, a small forward who could slide to the post in small-ball lineups.

All of those players figured to make finding consistent playing time a challenge for Bennett, so he sought his release to join a team where he might be able to fill a defined role.

“When you look at our team, our deepest position is probably power forward,” Wolves GM Milt Newton said in a statement issued by the team. “This move balances out our roster while also allowing Anthony another opportunity in the NBA. He has a lot of talent and his play this summer internationally made this a difficult decision for us.”

The UNLV product got a fresh start with Canada’s national team over the summer, playing well at both the Pan American Games in Toronto and the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament in Mexico City.

He joins fellow Toronto native Cory Joseph with the Raptors, who hold their season-opening media day Monday.

— With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press