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Raptors GM Ujiri says he put Anthony Bennett in a tough situation

Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Raptors made their addition of free-agent big man Jason Thompson official on Tuesday, and in the process bid adieu to forward Anthony Bennett.

Bennett, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft less than three years ago, has played for three teams before his 23rd birthday. This season, he became the first-ever top pick to play in the D-League.

Yet Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri says he takes some of the blame for Bennett's unspectacular tenure in his hometown of Toronto.

"It’s not anything Anthony did wrong," Ujiri told reporters on Tuesday. "I probably put him in a tough situation. I feel he needs to be somewhere where he can play. Playing time was going to be tough. I take responsibility for that because it wasn’t the kid's fault. People keep saying he's talented and he'll get a chance. It just has to be a team with opportunity to play."

Whether Bennett gets that chance in the NBA again remains to be seen. It was reported Monday that the Phoenix Suns may have interest in the 6-foot-8 combo forward, who appeared in 19 games for the Raptors this season.

Ujiri clearly hoped Bennett would make a stronger case to compete for significant minutes at Toronto's power forward spot, which was up in the air at the beginning of the season between Luis Scola and Patrick Patterson - with Bennett as a dark horse.

"It's a tough situation to put the kid in," Ujiri said. "First of all, to be honest, Scola came out and just helped us. We had that (good) record starting the season. ... This has nothing to do with him. People will write about the No. 1 pick and this and that but the kid has ... a lot of talent."

A consensus top 10 pick as a stretch-four coming out of UNLV in 2013, the Cleveland Cavaliers shocked most observers by drafting Bennett first. However, in 128 contests since, he has struggled in virtually all facets of the game. A strong performance for Team Canada at last summer's Pan Am Games and more minutes with Toronto's D-League affiliate failed to translate to the NBA floor.

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