By ADAM ZAGORIA
Former St. John’s guard Shamorie Ponds will sign a Two-Way Contract with the reigning NBA champion Toronto Raptors, his agent Ryan Davis told me Monday evening.
After being waived on Saturday by the Houston Rockets, the 6-foot Ponds opted to go with the Raptors. He will travel to Toronto on Tuesday and be there for the ring ceremony Tuesday night when the Raptors host the Zion Williamson-less New Orleans Pelicans.
“The Rockets wanted him to play with the [Rio Grande Valley] Vipers,” Davis said by phone of the Rockets G League club. “I felt the opportunity in Toronto was one we couldn’t pass up. We’re extremely thankful for the opportunity. They’re a first-class organization. The opportunity that presented itself is a great fit that we couldn’t pass up.”
The Raptors waived Cameron Payne over the weekend and currently have Kyle Lowery and Fred VanFleet at the point guard position, potentially leaving a spot for Ponds to claim.
and Chris Boucher.
It was reported last month that Ponds signed a Two-Way with Houston, but that never occurred, Davis said. Ponds went undrafted in June and later signed with the Rockets on a training camp deal.
Ponds is a scoring guard who spent last year showing he can involve his teammates. He averaged 19.7 points, 5.1 assists and 4.1 rebounds for a St. John’s team that got off to a red-hot 12-0 start. They struggled later in the season and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Arizona State in what turned out to be Chris Mullin’s last game as coach.
“I can score the ball, definitely get my teammates involving, just trying to show my overall game,” he said over the summer.
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Per NBA rules, NBA teams may have up to two players under NBA Two-Way Contracts who will spend the bulk of the season in the NBA G League and not more than 45 days with their NBA team. Two-Way players are paid a corresponding daily amount based on the number of days they play in each league. Several current Raptors have spent time in the G League before breaking out to star with the main club, including VanVleet, Pascal Siakam.@ShamorieP will sign a Two-Way contract with the Raptors, his agent Ryan Davis tells me. Ponds is traveling to Toronto tomorrow and will be there for the ring ceremony. https://t.co/a9AE26pnTX
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) October 22, 2019
