Markquis Nowell Clears Important Requirement for Raptors Organization

The Raptors organization will retain Markquis Nowell's rights moving forward following his return to the court for the Raptors 905

Oct 8, 2023; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Markquis Nowell (24) drives / Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Raptors will be keeping Markquis Nowell with the organization.

It’s been an injury-riddled season for Nowell who initially joined the Raptors on a two-way contract following the draft last summer. He appeared in 20 games for the Raptors 905 and played in one NBA game for the Raptors, but a hamstring injury has kept him sidelined for most of the season.

Toronto waived Nowell on March 4 to create a two-way spot for Mouhamadou Gueye to join the big club.

Nowell signed with the Raptors 905 following his release from Toronto but had to play at least one more game for the 905 to retain his rights moving forward. That requirement was cleared Wednesday when Nowell made his return to the court for the 905 against the Motor City Cruise.

It’s unclear what Toronto plans to do with Nowell when he is back healthy at some point down the road. The organization currently has its three two-way spots filled, though one of those is being taken up by Jontay Porter who is unlikely to return this season as he’s being investigated by the NBA as part of a probe into unusual gambling activity.

If the 905 do keep Nowell’s right for next season, he’ll still be a free agent for any NBA team to scoop up should a team opt to go in that direction.

Prior to Wednesday’s game, Nowell was averaging 15.3 points, 8.9 assists, and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 42% from the field and 38.5% from three-point range in the G League this year.