Just over a week after signing him, the Raptors have waived center Mo Bamba, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).
The sixth overall pick of the 2018 NBA draft, Bamba opened the 2025/26 season in the G League, then joined the Raptors last Monday to provide depth in the middle while starting center Jakob Poeltl recovers from a back injury.
Bamba, 27, was excelling in the NBAGL for the Salt Lake City Stars, averaging 16.5 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game in 14 outings for Utah’s affiliate. However, he didn’t play much during his brief stint with Toronto, logging four minutes last Monday vs. Orlando and just 93 seconds in garbage time on Saturday against Atlanta.
Bamba’s contract was non-guaranteed, so waiving him prior to this week’s league-wide salary guarantee date will allow the Raptors to avoid paying his full salary. The team will take on a cap charge of $194,771 for Bamba’s 11 days of service (nine on the roster and two on waivers).
Teams are now permitted to sign players to standard 10-day contracts, so the Raptors may bring back Bamba on a short-term deal once he clears waivers.
On the other hand, Poeltl’s return may not be far off — he’s taking contact and working on his reconditioning, head coach Darko Rajakovic said on Monday (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca). Toronto has also been playing well as of late with Sandro Mamukelashvili playing a regular role off the bench behind a small-ball starting lineup that features rookie Collin Murray-Boyles as the de facto five. Still, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link) believes there’s a decent chance the team re-signs Bamba to a 10-day deal for insurance purposes.
Bamba is the second veteran center on a non-guaranteed contract to hit waivers this week, joining former Pacers big man Tony Bradley, who was cut on Monday.
All these amazing big men and players that many say the Warriors should pick up are getting waived or riding the bench with other teams.
So why would the Warriors want these useless big guys?
Just the other day on the pelicans every player had floor time except for Looney and DeAndre Jordan. These are two backup centers and saw zero playing time because it would not have benefited the team to play them.
So many uninformed professing basketball experts here and they don’t see what happens to these guys when they are signed by other teams.
If you look at the facts, they don’t play or they’re waived or they’ll get tryouts and cut or they just ride the pine like washed DNP Lopez.
The Amazing Mo Bamba with skills off the charts? He just needs to be given a chance?
Waived. Not really a surprise to those who are paying attention to what the league is about and how the game has progressed the last decade or two.
My brother he has been given plenty of chances. You are seeing physical tools but teams are seeing play style. He is ineffective with the ball in his hands so he needs to be a good pick and roll center which he is not. He doesn’t set the screen well enough and roll and when he does his jump shot is inconsistent if he pops or his finishing ability around the rim. He also hasn’t shown to be able to punish the smaller defender if he gets the ball, making a jump hook or anything like that. On top of that his defensive positioning is terrible. He picks up a lot of fouls and he really does suck because he has all the tools to make a really good big man. I don’t know what it is if it’s a basketball IQ thing, but he’s just not that great of a player. It’s kind of like Moses Brown. I forget who was on here screaming that he was such a good player or when he’s the exact same always out of position
We’re on the same page.
I really don’t understand how other basketball fans are not seeing the same thing.
Just because a guy is 7 feet doesn’t mean he’s an asset on a team needing a center.
I’d rather have a 6-9 four man who can shoot the rock, handle a little bit, and be an effective contributor to a winning team than Some of these players these fans are suggesting.
Just my two cents, and everybody’s entitled to their opinions, but these guys are typicallysigned and then waived, signed and then cut.
Or they’re signed and they don’t play and they sit at the end of the bench.
I think that tell us is a lot about how valuable these guys really are.
I think people confuse size and athleticism for skills. With one-and-done, players don’t really learn a position. They are just thrown into games and hope they survive. Basketball could use a good minor league, or developmental system. All the other sports have it.
What “minor league” does the NFL have? And just between you and me, if minor league baseball didn’t specifically target super small market areas that will funnel cash into supporting a team that doesn’t matter, there wouldn’t be a minor league system. At least beneath AAA (Lets go Aces!).
Long story short, no money out = no money in. Guys develop just fine without a minor league system if they’re coached and trained properly so why create a whole different league to support the 5 teams that can’t understand development?
College is a de facto minor league for the NFL. To qualify for the NFL draft, you have to go through 4 years of college.
Every NHL team has 2 minor league teams. Soccer has multiple levels. Auto racing has lower levels.
MLB farm teams do quite well attendance wise. There are a bunch of Independent leagues. The Carribean leagues do quite well.
No matter how good the coaching is; you still need time on the floor to put it all together. It is hard to develop a player on a successful team. They make mistakes that could cost games.
Sink or swim. Make or miss. This is the way.
Moses and Mo are nothing alike. Different talents. Bamba has the tools. Hasn’t developed them right. At 27 he has to take responsibility. Magic who drafted him did him no favors.
Al,
Every take you ever have is always on the organization and never on the player. You just said this dude is 27 years old. Moses is like $24-25 years old. You have to develop more than just athletic ability to play in the NBA. That’s an overseas talon if you’re just elite at that same thing I say with Jonathan kaminga Mo, Just like KJ Martin when we had the back and forth on him. These guys are not NBA players anymore. At 27 years old there’s not as much development mobama can do unless he goes over, sees and gets some real playing time against real bigs the G League bigs aren’t really NBA players. The G League gets really set up for guards and forwards.
Yes every take !!!! in itself is brilliant. You think you know me. Why don’t you try one thing at a time. You might actually have a point.
I have already put it out there about Bamba. You just don’t want to accept it. At some point you do put it in on the player. I just don’t do it by someone else’s standards.
You don’t know what different talents mean. Moses and Mo are not the same kind of players. Their paths to the NBA are so different. To you they are all bunched up as failings. To me I take them as individuals. And try to see the whole picture, story. I don’t give up on players. The Ones that fail is cause they give up on themselves. Savor that —
I’m not here for you. I’m here to spread knowledge and get knowledge. Get off that guilt and just handle the facts. This isn’t a competition…
Na man I don’t think you ever played ball. You control your own development. Working out in the summer. Working on a rule. Learning to play defense. Watching film, taking care of your body. What you don’t control is opportunity. My man has played 5969 minutes in his career. Jonathan kaminga even more. We’re not even counting this playoff minutes. KJ Martin around the same amount of minutes too. So you have had opportunity. Are real athlete knows this. Not some so called Internet expert. Most people are on this site. Don’t see through your BS. I do because I actually played ball. What whole picture for MO. He even started at one point. It’s not about giving up on themselves. It’s about this is professional basketball and when you’re 27 years old you don’t have as much improvement to gain and there are younger guys they can try in develp. I’m sick and tired of this blame the teams and it’s always a team’s fault. You say the same thing about Giannis but yeah he doesn’t change his style of play and plays the same way so he’s always hurt. That’s on him. What facts have you said l? A fact would have been hey he has only played 1000 Garbage time minutes so he hasn’t got to show what he can do that’s a fact. Not it’s a deeper story when you been in the league played over 5K minutes and you want to blame the team or the situations
I played all over NY as a 7 yr old. Never stopped till I got hurt. You actually learn more by watching when you know what to look for.
Yeah no one needs coaching. Thats why they get 8-10 mill a year. I hear you. Thibs didn’t build this Knicks team. The players did. Kerr had nothing to do with Warriors success. Yeah you know …
Players and tge NBA is learning all thebtime hit be better. Condition is still a work in progress as is nutrition. You really should update lol.
I never said that you couldn’t learn the game and be an expert at the game just because you didn’t play. I said that plenty of times on the site, but your tapes are showing that you don’t know what your you’re talking about. You’re deflecting off of the point. The point you make is that it’s the organization’s fault, but now you’re saying that a team puts a a team together?. Had any of these players play for Sacramento? Yeah it’s the team if you play for the Dallas cowboys, yeah it’s the team because year after year after year those teams don’t do anything and they flame out every single year they don’t put teams together. They’re always in purgatory then. Yes you sitting there saying that mo who’s been a three or four different teams, or Jonathan kaminga who’s on a championship level team and plays sometimes without the stars and has over $5 to 7,000 minutes and neither of these players have shown anything in any of those minutes that shows why a team should keep them around or when Jonathan can mean ‘s situation why he’s worth $20 million a year. Let’s stay on topic. Nobody said that we don’t need coaches. Nobody said we don’t need GMS. I think I’m the biggest one saying that Giannis and LeBron and the rest of these two shouldn’t be playing GM and every time they do they winning up not winning anything. So make your mind up and stop deflecting what does that have to do with him? Jonathan kaminga developing their games. How is their teams holding them back
OK so tgese aren’t your words.
“ Na man I don’t think you ever played ball. You control your own development. Working out in the summer. Working”
Dude you got nothing but noise. Don’t waste my time.
You just said you played ball and got hurt just because you played ball doesn’t mean you played competitive ball. Did you play high school? Did you play college? Did you play pro ball?. The way you’re talking is like you did play ball in the ’70s or something up till high school. You’re distracting from the main point of us going back and forth is that you always blame the organization and never blame the player. I just hit you with facts statistical facts that Mo Obama played over 5,000 minutes just like kaminga has And explain the difference between opportunity in your own development. So yes, I did say a player controls their own development. You don’t control your opportunity. All three players that you’ve argued about, including Giannis. They have been in control of their own development and they all received opportunity from their team. So how is it the team’s fault answer that
link to youtube.com
That’s for you AL. They explained it beautifully.
How is this dude only 27?
He’s gonna be a good pick up for someone.
Unlike every other team that’s picked him up?
Raps should trade (Quickley, Poetl and Agbaji for Markkanen or Sabonis). Markkanen requires 3 firsts, Sabonis only one first.
At 27 yrs old. Seems Mo will never get it. No reason why he shouldn’t be a rim protector, rebounder by now. He is more athletic than Mitch. And actually has some offensive game. I guess nobody ever got thru to him. He’s had a few decent yrs. Just never built on that.
That’s correct. Met him years ago and I think his ego was much larger than his work ethic.
Hard not to let ego get to your head when the entire world is sining a song that is named after you…
New management, questionable decisions
It seems to me that Bamba could be, not would be, but could be a fit for a high echelon team look for a short minutes guy off the bench to relieve a teams big man. I’m not sure which team that could be and leave to wiser heads here to suggest a top 8-10 team where that fit might make sense.
Agreed on short minutes. Perfect dude for 3-5 minute bursts twice a game.
Another guy GSW should target…
The rumors are he doesn’t have the motor to be consistent. Or the drive to want to be better.
He needed strength coming into L, still needs it. If you will play as a rim protector you need strength. It’s why you don’t see KP there anymore. To me the first yrs are the most telling. Drafting young players (18-19 yr olds). Is not just about upside.
You look at Mitch who is really a Oneway player. He has a history of getting banged up. Not all players want to deal with that. You have to play smart and know the position. Also takes commitment. Some are just not built for it.
Mitch Robinson — 7’ 240 lbs. Has worked out with weights for yrs. Drafted at 221 lbs. Did not play college ball. Was lucky to have Thibs school him.
Mo Bamba — 7’ 230 lbs today. Drafted at 225 lbs. as a lottery pick. was projected to be elite defensively. We are still waiting ……
Buying buckets ——-
These are your words ……
“ That’s an overseas talon if you’re just elite at that same thing I say with Jonathan kaminga Mo, Just like KJ Martin when we had the back and forth on him. These guys are not NBA players anymore.”
Being elite at one thing. Will get you in the NBA. You can see that on every team.
Bunching Kuminga in with these players. Is just proving my point about you. Warriors just signed him two yrs 45 mill. That has nothing to do with me. They didn’t ask me honest …..
KJ Martin has been an NBA player for 5yrs and avg 22 mins a gm. So what could he possibly have to do with guys failing to catch on an NBA team.
All you do is complain and hate on players. Just cause I disagree with you doesn’t make me right. You can hate on all the players you want. Don’t expect me to. I treat them all as individuals. No two players are the same. Just like no two people are the same.
Not knowing Moses came in hurt. And has dealt with injuries for yrs. Just like Wiseman has. Only shows how fast fans just want to hate on players. Why are we so fast to judge and trash a player. When we should be rooting they make it.
Big men are in danger of extinction in the NBA, Dennis Rodman would average 30 rebounds per game in this era.