LAS VEGAS -- The Toronto Raptors have agreed to sign forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to a one-year deal, league sources confirmed to ESPN.
Hollis-Jefferson, 24, was allowed to become an unrestricted free agent by the Brooklyn Nets last month, as Brooklyn needed every ounce of cap space it could muster to sign Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and DeAndre Jordan as free agents this month.
The deal hasn't been officially announced, but Hollis-Jefferson tweeted on Sunday about heading to Canada.
OHHHH CANADA 🇨🇦
— R.HollisJefferson (@IAmCHAP24) July 8, 2019
A lanky, athletic forward, Hollis-Jefferson played at center at times last year with the Nets, despite being 6-foot-7-- because of his lack of a 3-point shot, as he went just 9-for-49 from behind the arc.
Hollis-Jefferson is the second forward the Raptors have signed in as many days, after agreeing to a deal with former New Orleans Pelicans forward Stanley Johnson on Saturday. Those are the first two moves the franchise has made in the wake of Kawhi Leonard's decision to sign with the LA Clippers after he won the NBA Finals MVP and a championship with the Raptors this past season. Fellow free agent Danny Green also departed, signing a two-year deal for $30 million with the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.
Toronto still has its full non-taxpayer's mid-level exception available -- with a starting salary of $9.3 million for this season -- as it tries to sort out what direction it wants to go now that Leonard has left. With Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka and Fred VanVleet making more than $80 million in combined expiring contracts, the Raptors have the flexibility to go in a variety of directions -- including bringing back a team that would still compete for a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference -- for next season.
The Athletic first reported that Hollis-Jefferson agreed to a deal with the Raptors.
