"Lawson made his way to Toronto by a circuitous route. The Canadian native attended South Carolina before going undrafted in 2021. After a year in the G League, the Minnesota Timberwolves scooped him up onto a two-way contract and he made his NBA debut. A few months later, he was waived and joined the Dallas Mavericks, ultimately hitting free agency once more last fall."
"The Raptors went through the preseason with 13 guaranteed contracts on the roster; they can go up to 15 total players and then three two-way contracts. It seemed very possible that they would retain Lawson in the backcourt as one of those final two slots. Knowing that the team also waived project center Ulrich Chomche should have made it even more likely that he was kept on the roster."
A.J. Lawson went undrafted in 2021 after attending South Carolina, spent a year in the G League, signed a two-way contract with Minnesota, made his NBA debut, was waived, joined the Dallas Mavericks, then hit free agency. Toronto signed him to a two-way contract in December, and Lawson worked into the rotation amid injuries and tanking, showing toughness on defense and the boards and confident scoring despite below-ideal efficiency. The Raptors navigated preseason roster limits with 13 guaranteed contracts, waived Lawson while keeping Jamison Battle and leaving a spot open, taking a transactional risk to retain Lawson's rights.
Read at Raptors Rapture
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