Former Sixers forward to sign with Eastern Conference rival

The Raptors have reached an agreement on a deal with free-agent forward Jalen McDaniels, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic.

According to Charania, McDaniels will sign a two-year, $9.3M contract with Toronto. Those figures suggest the team will complete the signing using its bi-annual exception, which starts at about $4.5M.

A former second-round pick, McDaniels spent his first three-and-a-half seasons in the NBA with the Hornets before being traded to the Sixers at the February deadline. The 6-foot-9 forward is a 34.5% career three-point shooter and has the length and athleticism to guard multiple positions, so he should fit right in with the Raptors and their collection of rangy wings.

The No. 34 free agent on our top-50 list, McDaniels averaged 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steal in 23.9 minutes per game (80 appearances) for Charlotte and Philadelphia in 2022-23.

The Raptors suffered a major loss on the first day of free agency when Fred VanVleet opted to leave Toronto for Houston. That generated some spending flexibility below the luxury-tax line for the Raptors, who committed their full mid-level exception to point guard Dennis Schröder.

With their bi-annual exception ticketed for McDaniels, the Raptors will be limited to minimum-salary signings and/or trades for the rest of the offseason.