LAS VEGAS – A few months ago, Tyson Degenhart’s agent built a presentation for his client outlining the different avenues NBA hopefuls can take if they don’t hear their name called in the draft.
By the time the Toronto Raptors reached out to Degenhart on June 26, the former Mt. Spokane High and Boise State standout had a good idea of what the Eastern Conference franchise meant when it expressed interest in signing him to an “Exhibit 10” contract.
Almost everyone else in Degenhart’s immediate circle? Not a clue.
“A lot, it’s a lot of people,” Degenhart said when asked how many family members and friends asked for explanations in the days after he learned his NBA destination. “But I think once they hear, they understand what it is and why it’s important.”
The nuts-and-bolts version: Exhibit 10 contracts are one-year, nonguaranteed agreements that compensate players with a minimum salary. Teams are able to retain up to six Exhibit 10 contracts at a time.
As part of the deal, Degenhart received an invitation to NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, where he played in three of Toronto’s five games earlier this month. Degenhart’s Exhibit 10 can be converted to a standard two-way contract before the regular season. If he’s waived, the forward may be eligible for a $75,000 bonus, provided he spends at least 60 days with Toronto’s G League affiliate, Raptors 905.
It was the most appealing option for Degenhart after going undrafted – other teams offered roster spots at Summer League, but nothing more – and still provides a potential path to a full-time job in the NBA, which hardly seemed plausible five years ago when he had just one college offer coming out of Mt. Spokane.
“I think during my senior year I was really pushing myself to be the best version of myself and I think once the season was over, I had a pretty good year and I felt I had a good grasp,” Degenhart said. “It might not be the most traditional route, but there’s plenty of guys that went the undrafted route and made careers in the NBA.”
The Raptors were monitoring Degenhart while he eclipsed Boise State’s career scoring record last season, leaving the program with 2,037 points, three NCAA Tournament appearances and three All-Mountain West first-team selections.
“Tyson had an outstanding career playing at Boise State. We’ve been watching him very closely,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic, who met with media members after one of the team’s initial Summer League practices held at a makeshift practice facility inside a Wynn Hotel ballroom. “He came in for the draft workout as well. We had an opportunity to learn his game more. He’s really competing really hard every single day. Obviously, this is an opportunity for him to show us even more who he is and what his game is and he’s doing great so far.”
Degenhart didn’t have much time to decompress when Boise State’s season ended in the semifinals of the inaugural College Basketball Crown Tournament, held in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena, just a few miles away from where his pro career unofficially launched with the Raptors.
Within 11 days of his 26-point, eight-rebound showing in a 79-69 loss to Nebraska, Degenhart was back on the court competing in front of NBA and international scouts at the Portsmouth (Virginia) Invitational – a postseason camp designed to showcase college seniors.
Over the next two months, he traveled the country and made one international stop into Canada while conducting eight predraft workouts with NBA teams. When he wasn’t flying from one NBA city to the next, Degenhart hunkered down in Boise and worked with BSU’s strength coaches, sneaking up to Spokane briefly in June to surprise his dad on Father’s Day.
“I was definitely glad to be done with the travel since it’s a little hard to get out of the Boise Airport,” Degenhart said. “You’ve got a lot of connecting flights. I just tried to take it in and enjoy it as much as I can.”
Degenhart had a positive experience during a predraft visit with the Raptors and didn’t hesitate to sign an Exhibit 10 contract roughly 25-30 minutes after the draft concluded.
“From the moment he committed to our program and walked through our doors in 2021, we knew Tyson was special and destined for great things,” Boise State coach Leon Rice, a former Gonzaga assistant, said in a school news release. “His hard work, dedication and countless hours has put him in this position, and he’s going to reward Toronto for the opportunity.”
Degenhart returned to Toronto for a Summer League training camp before traveling to Vegas, where the Raptors played five games in two facilities he was uniquely familiar with from his time playing at UNLV and competing in the Mountain West Tournament, held at Thomas & Mack Center.
Doing quick math, Degenhart estimated he had a 13-3 record in games played at UNLV’s main gym. Toronto’s 4-1 record at Summer League didn’t hurt the personal winning percentage, even if Degenhart didn’t play in the same high-usage role he did at Boise State.
The rookie averaged only 1.9 minutes per game in three Summer League appearances, struggling to crack a frontcourt rotation that featured lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles and a pair of established forwards – Jonathan Mogbo and Jamison Battle – who each played around 60 games for Toronto last NBA season.
Degenhart still has a strong chance of securing a spot with Raptors 905, based 45 minutes away in the suburb of Mississauga, particularly if he can adapt to more of a wing role. The 6-foot-8 Degenhart is considered a “tweener,” but expects to see more time as a three in the NBA or G League, after playing primarily at the four and occasionally as an undersized five at Boise State.
“I played a lot of four in college, but with the size difference and guys bigger and more athletic, I’ll probably have to play more on the wing,” he said. “So just definitely trying to get myself in better shape to play more on the perimeter as a three.”
A busy stretch the past few months hasn’t given him much time to reflect, but Degenhart said he’s appreciative of his unlikely journey, from unheralded recruit to Boise State icon to professional hooper.
A few recent interactions have probably helped put the sequence of achievements into context.
Longtime Mt. Spokane coach David Wagenblast was one of the first to message Degenhart when news of his former player’s Exhibit 10 contract became public. The forward also heard from multiple high school teammates who played with the two-time Greater Spokane League MVP on the Wildcats’ undefeated 2021 team.
“I think I took some time after my college career was over, just took a couple days and just kind of thought about it and just how far I’ve come from being an eighth-grader going into ninth grade, playing on the varsity team in summer all the way to now,” Degenhart said. “It’s just been an incredible ride and hope to keep this thing rolling for a long time.”