Raptors: Sam Dekker’s goodbye to fans after being waived is touching

Masai Ujiri and the Toronto Raptors spent a good chunk of the preseason figuring out if non-guaranteed players like Sam Dekker, Isaac Bonga, and Ishmail Wainright were good enough to make the initial roster. After some tough competition, Dekker and Bonga were selected for inclusion while Wainright and Freddie Gillespie were waived.

While Dekker, a former first-round pick who spent last season playing overseas in Turkey, wasn’t expected to be one of the team’s leading scorers, he was able to provide depth at multiple frontcourt positions and potentially make an impact with his jump shot.

Unfortunately, Dekker’s time in Toronto was cut short, and Goran Dragic may be to blame. The Raptors are currently paying Dragic over $19 million this year, and that number has them right up against the threshold of the luxury tax. With today being the date when Dekker’s contract would’ve become guaranteed, the Raptors decided to waive him.

After Dekker has already assimilated into the locker room and announced that he and his wife (sportscaster Olivia Harlan) are expecting, this move goes to show how cold and calculated the world of NBA finance can be.

Dekker tweeted out a touching goodbye to the Raptors and their fanbase. Dekker called the waive “another hill to climb” before confirming he’ll miss Scottie Barnes and the rest of the squad. Dekker shouted out the fans, saying that they saw him for who he really was.

The Toronto Raptors made a tough move by cutting Sam Dekker.

Dekker, who helped earn a roster spot on the back of a tremendous preseason finale against the Wizards, was viewed as less valuable than Bonga. While Dekker can shoot, Bonga is the superior defensive player, and that might’ve been enough for Ujiri, Bobby Webster, and Nick Nurse.

Dekker’s humor and ability to connect with the young players helped provide some quality social media content. From sharing conversations with his mom about the daily goings-on in Toronto to declaring the rest of his teammates “A1 guys” after he announced his wife was pregnant, it seems like he fit that locker room like a glove.

In a perfect world, Dragic would’ve been dealt in a way that got them under the luxury tax before the season, but Ujiri had no way of knowing he would be as poor as he was on both sides of the ball when the sign-and-trade was consummated. As a side effect of Dragic’s contract, Dekker had to bite the dust.

Considering what he showed in the preseason, it may not be long before another NBA team takes a flier on him.