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The Toronto Raptors and Jeremy Lin have made what we knew on Monday officially official: Lin has signed on the dotted line and he is now a Toronto Raptor!
Lin has cleared waivers and the Raptors have made his signing official. Won't have official word on his availability for tonight until 5:45 or so, but he's expected to play.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) February 13, 2019
There are no contract details known yet, and we’ll update the news on Lin’s availability tonight as soon as we can.
Update @ 5:48 p.m.: Lin will play tonight vs. Washington!
Jeremy Lin will play.
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) February 13, 2019
Lin’s signing couldn’t come soon enough, as we got the distressing news earlier this afternoon that Fred VanVleet will miss approximately five weeks with a thumb injury that requires surgery. As such, Lin will get thrown right into the mix as the primary backup point guard.
Lin is expected to dress for tonight’s home tilt against Washington; he arrived in Toronto this morning, though contractually he was not able to be around the team, we can hope he was picking up the playbook by osmosis.
A 30-year old, nine-year vet, Lin averaged 10.7 points on 46% shooting for the Hawks this season, playing 19.7 minutes per game in 51 appearances. When the Raptors roster thinned out following the trade deadline, Lin immediately popped to the top of every Raptor fans’ wish lists as a buyout option, and for once, those wishes came true. He looked like an ideal fit to replace Delon Wright, even before VanVleet got hurt; with VanVleet on the shelf, Lin will see regular minutes off the bench and should be fully acclimated by the time the playoffs roll around.