Nothing says “bust” like getting your contract bought out, which is reportedly what’s happening right now with Minnesota Timberwolves forward Anthony Bennett.
Adrian Wojnorowski of Yahoo! Sports has the scoop on this breaking story.
Yahoo Sources: Minnesota progressing on contract buyout with former No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett. He would be free agent if clears waivers.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 21, 2015
Bennett, the first overall selection of the 2013 NBA Draft, has yet to live up to the hype surrounding him when he earned that distinction a couple years ago. Given his less-than-stellar career to this point, it seems highly unlikely that a team would try and pick up up on waivers, meaning he would be a free agent heading into the 2015-16 NBA season.
In his first two years, Bennett averaged a paltry 4.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He was originally picked up by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2013 but was part of a three-team trade the next year and ended up in Minnesota.
Fast forward to this year, and the Timberwolves are apparently already resigned to moving on without him. Given his athleticism and talent coming out of UNLV, the Canadian likely won’t fall out of the league completely.
He’ll almost certainly get another chance to prove his worth, but he’ll be doing so on a much more reasonable contract that the one he currently has with the ‘Wolves, which is set to pay him $7.3 million this year.