Raptors Fill Two-Way Spot With Younger Brother of NBA Sharpshooter

The Toronto Raptors have signed Jontay Porter to a two-way deal where he'll join the Raptors 905 this year

The Toronto Raptors didn’t wait long to fill their vacant two-way spot Friday night.

Jontay Porter, 24, has reportedly signed with the organization on a two-way deal to take the place of Ron Harper Jr. who was waived Friday afternoon, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The 6-foot-10 Porter has spent the season with the Detroit Pistons’ G League team where he’s averaging 16.8 points and 10.7 rebounds across 10 games for the Motor City Cruise. He previously played for the Wisconsin Herd last season and was briefly a member of the Memphis Grizzlies in 2020-21.

Porter is the younger brother of Michael Porter Jr. who plays for the Denver Nuggets. Both brothers went to Missouri where Jontay played from 2017 to 2019 before going undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Toronto created the roster spot by waiving Harper who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury on Thursday that will require surgery. It was just the latest blow for a Raptors 905 roster that has been battling a slew of injuries all season.

Expect Porter to head down to the 905 where he’ll join Javon Freeman-Liberty and Markquis Nowell, Toronto’s two other two-way players. Considering Porter’s size, it's possible he sees some time with the Raptors should Toronto’s frontcourt depth be tested this year. Christian Koloko, the team’s backup center, has been out all year with an ongoing respiratory issue.

Porter was the sixth-man of the year in the SEC in 2018, his lone healthy and active season at Missouri. He averaged 9.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while shooting 43.7% from the floor and 36.4% from three-point range.