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Last month, the Toronto Raptors brought Jodie Meeks in on a 10-day contract, and he impressed the team enough that they’re bringing him back for the rest of the season:
Free agent guard Jodie Meeks has agreed to a deal with the Toronto Raptors for the rest of the season, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 25, 2019
Meeks averaged 7.5 points per game in two February appearances for the Raptors — a blowout win over the Celtics, and a blowout loss to the (ahem) Magic. Meeks shot 3-for-8 from downtown in those games, although in my memory, he shot something closer to 9-for-13 — that’s how good his stroke looked on a team that had been struggling to shoot the three-ball at that point (they’ve been much better since).
This move probably won’t have much of an impact on the team (or, as Doug Smith is fond of saying, on the balance of power in the East); but it’s always a nice to have another three-point specialist on the team, and a little bit of insurance to help keep the main guys rested between now and the postseason.
This move gets Toronto’s roster to 14 players, the minimum needed to be carried throughout the postseason. There’s still a chance they add one more body before the playoffs; a big man seems the most likely move, perhaps bringing back Eric Moreland. I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that Marcin Gortat is still out there too.
Meeks’ signing isn’t official yet, and probably won’t happen until tomorrow at the earliest — the Raptors will want to stretch out the cost of signing another player as long as possible.