Toronto Raptors Sign Utah Basketball’s Branden Carlson To Two-Way Deal

SALT LAKE CITY – Following the conclusion of the NBA Draft, reports surfaced that the Toronto Raptors were signing Utah Utes center Branden Carlson to a two-way contract.

Carlson played in five seasons with the Runnin’ Utes and built an all-time Utah men’s basketball career.

Utah Utes center Branden Carlson has agreed on a two-way deal with the Toronto Raptors, source tells ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 27, 2024

Carlson played 145 games in a Utah uniform with 139 starts.

He increased his scoring average every season and finished fifth all-time in Utes scoring with 1874 total points.

Carlson is also first in games played, first in blocks, fourth in field goals made, and fourth in defensive rebounds.

Last season, Carlson was named to the All-Pac-12 First-Team, the AP All-Pac-12 Second-Team, and the NABC Second-Team All-District. He was also named the Utah State of Sports Male Collegiate Athlete of the Year in 2023.

BRANDEN CARLSON‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/fVf42bfloa

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 19, 2024

Carlson joins a Toronto Raptors team that is best described as an organization in limbo.

After winning the 2019 NBA Championship and losing their star player, the Raptors have been on the decline. They won 48 games in 2022, 41 games in 2023, and just 25 games last season.

However, there is still hope for the team up north. Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, and Gradey Dick are all promising players under 25 years old.

We the North! Congratulations to @ballerbranden35 for agreeing on a two-way deal with the @Raptors! 🇨🇦#NBADraft | @UtahMBB pic.twitter.com/O1iutnyByK

— Priority Sports (@PrioritySports) June 27, 2024

The Utah ties continue to stack up for the Raptors.

Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji both started this past NBA season with the Utah Jazz and were shipped to Toronto at the trade deadline.

Also, center Jakob Poeltl will be going into his fifth year with the Raptors and played his college ball at Utah.

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Chandler Holt is a co-host of the Jazz Notes podcast, a Locals In The NFL Insider, and Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.

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