Anthony Bennett signs reported 1-year, minimum deal with hometown Raptors

Former No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett has agreed to a one-year, veteran minimum deal with the Toronto Raptors, according to Yahoo Sports' Shams Charania.

Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski was first to report that the Raptors were the "strong frontrunners" to land the big man after the Minnesota Timberwolves placed him on waivers Wednesday, with no other teams making a claim on Bennett and his $5.8-million salary.

The Toronto-area native confirmed the news with a series of tweets Sunday afternoon.

In joining his third team in three seasons, Bennett can only hope returning to play in his hometown can be the spark needed to help shed his growing "bust" label.

Bennett is joining a roster with a fairly crowded frontcourt, as Luis Scola, Patrick Patterson, James Johnson, and DeMarre Carroll are all seemingly locked in ahead of him on the depth chart at the four spot. Toronto's new D-League affiliate, Raptors 905, may be an ideal place to stash the 22-year-old, as minutes in the big club's rotation could be few and far between.

The 6-foot-8 big man becomes just the third Canadian to play for the Raptors in their history, joining former All-Star Jamaal Magloire, and point guard Cory Joseph, who Toronto signed to a four-year deal this offseason.

Since entering the league in 2013 with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Bennett has struggled mightily to live up to the status that comes with being selected first overall, averaging just 4.7 points and 3.4 rebounds on 39.3 percent shooting in 109 career outings.

Cleveland cut the cord with Bennett last summer, dealing him and eventual 2015 Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins to Minnesota in the three-team trade that sent Kevin Love to the Cavaliers.

As a member of Team Canada, Bennett averaged 7.6 points and 5.4 boards this summer in the FIBA Americas tournament.