The Toronto Raptors may have to fork out the cash if they want to keep one of their best producers on the bench.
Forward Sandro Mamukelashvili intends to decline his $2.8 million player option for the 2026-27 season and become a free agent, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday.
Mamukelashvili, 27, had a productive campaign as the Raptors’ sixth man, averaging 11.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists – all career highs – while shooting 52.3 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from 3-point range.
He joined the Raptors as a free agent last summer and played the most in his five-year career, appearing in 80 games and averaging 21.9 minutes per night.
The Georgian also got his first taste of basketball in the playoffs, playing in all seven of the Raptors’ first-round games against the Cleveland Cavaliers, averaging five points, five rebounds and one assist.
Drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round in 2021, Mamukelashvili has 278 NBA games under his belt, split between the Bucks, Spurs and Raptors.