Raptors sign Matt Bonner
By InsideHoops.com / Sept 20, 2004
The Toronto Raptors announced Monday they have signed forward Matt Bonner. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
The Raptors acquired the rights to Bonner on June 26, 2003 from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for a future second-round draft pick. He spent last season playing for Sicilia in the Italian A1 League, where he averaged 19.2 points (seventh in the 18-team league) and 9.3 rebounds (seventh in the league).
Bonner, 6-foot-10, 240 pounds, was selected by the Bulls with the 45th pick in the 2003 NBA Draft and dealt that same evening to the Raptors. He has played for the Raptors’ summer league entry the past two years. Bonner averaged 10.4 points (12th in the league) and 6.8 rebounds (fifth in the league and second on the team) for the Raptors in the 2004 Minnesota Summer League. He had a high of 20 points against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Bonner averaged 12.0 points and 5.9 rebounds in 131 career games with the University of Florida. He is the only player in school history to record 1,500 points, 750 rebounds and 150 three-pointers. As a senior, he averaged a team-best 15.2 points and was second on the squad with 6.1 rebounds. A first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection, he led the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.474).
Bonner fought hard to make the Raptors. He's a consistent shooter, which in today's NBA is especially useful.
``He's a 6-foot-10 player that can shoot the NBA 3 and he's a physical, aggressive rebounder,'' general manager Rob Babcock said to the Associated Press. ``I think he's got a legitimate chance to compete for a spot on our team.''
Bonner's used to success. He was valedictorian of his high school. At Florida, he majored in Business Administration. In 1999-2000, as a freshman, he was a key reason why Florida made it to the NCAA championship game. Bonner had a quality, four-year college career.
|