Twenty Three Year Old Former First Overall Pick Reportedly Has Agreement WIth NY Based Club

Former first overall pick Anthony Bennett made his presence felt Monday while on tour of duty for the Canadian senior men’s national team.

Head coach Jay Triano’s troops served Croatia a 91-80 loss on a neutral site in Italy. Impressive was Bennett who finished with an efficient 21 points in only 22 minutes of action. Looking noticeably slimmer Bennett was making shots from all over the floor including three field goals made from behind the arc enroute to a 9-for-13 shooting night. Bennett also played the center position for stretches when Khem Birch was not on the floor.

Bennett was selected No. 1 overall by the Cavs out of UNLV in 2013. He played just 52 games and averaged only 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game during his rookie season. He was promptly traded to Minnesota in the Kevin Love deal, and he did not fare much better there. The Raptors had Bennett up and down from the D-League this season before waiving him in February.

Jul 21, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Canada forward Anthony Bennett (10) reacts after a dunk against the Dominican Republic in the men’s basketball preliminary round during the 2015 Pan Am Games at Ryerson Athletic Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Bennett, a free agent after being cut by Toronto, looks to be in peak physical condition. He joined Team Canada this past weekend, after working out an arrangement to get him insured for injury in FIBA play, leading to speculation that he has an agreement with an NBA team.

BIG APPLE BOUND

Brooklyn have been linked with Bennett recently. Nets have shown a high level of interest to take a risk on the power forward, who was among a group of veteran free agents who worked out at a Nets’ minicamp held in late May.
Bennett could be a summer league and/or training camp invite.

Adding fuel to the fire is that Bennett’s agent is Mike George of Excel Sports Management— which is run by Jeff Schwartz — whose clients have included Deron Williams, Paul Pierce, Joe Johnson, Mirza Teletovic and other former Nets players.

Also in the mix for the Canadian big man is the Nets city rival New York Knicks. Bennett has reportedly worked out with the Knicks brass too in May. This past January Bennett recorded 19 points for the Raptors D-League affiliate 905 in a win over the Knicks D-League affiliate Westchester. For the Knicks who don’t have a draft pick in this Thursday’s NBA draft, acquiring Bennett could be a beneficial acquisition enabling them to cost efficiently add a young player with upside.

Bennett only twenty three years old stands at 6’7″ with a 7’1″ wingspan. No team can sign him until July 7th, 2016.