The Toronto Raptors announced Sunday they have signed forward Paul Watson to a standard NBA contract and forward Yuta Watanabe to a two-way player contract. Watson originally signed a two-way player contract with the club Jan. 15, 2020. Per team policy, financial terms of the deals were not disclosed. Watson, 6-foot-6, 210 pounds, averaged 3.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 8.7 minutes in 10 games with Atlanta and Toronto last season. He set career highs with 22 points (8-13 FG, 4-6 3PT, 2-3 FT) and six rebounds in 27 minutes in the regular season finale Aug. 14 vs. Denver. Watson also appeared in 30 games with Raptors 905 in the NBA G League where he averaged 19.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 35.3 minutes. For his efforts Watson was named to All-NBA G League Midseason Eastern Conference Team. – via Soheil Jamshidi @ NBA.com
Josh Lewenberg: Paul Watson on having his 2-way converted to an NBA deal today: “Man, I still can’t put it into words yet. All I can say is it’s blessing to have this opportunity. I’m grateful for it and ready to get to work.” – via Twitter JLew1050
