Raptors News – Josh Jackson Jr. Signed By Toronto Raptors

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In the Latest Raptors news, the Toronto Raptors have signed Josh Jackson Jr.. According to Sportsnet’s Blake Murphy twitter feed, it is a non guaranteed training camp deal. The guard/forward was the 4th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft. He was originally drafted by the Phoenix Suns but has also played for the Memphis, Detroit and most recently Sacramento. With his signing the Raptors are at the maximum amount of 20 players allowed for training camp. So why the Raptors sign him?

Raptors News – Josh Jackson Jr. – Low Risk and High Reward!

When you look at Josh Jackson’s measurements, he fits the Raptors profile. He is six foot eight and has almost a six foot 10 wingspan. When coming out of college, he was known for his tenacious defense. The Toronto Raptors love defensive players who are very athletic. One draft website compared him to Kawhi Leonard or Jimmy Butler when coming out of college. However, he never came close to living up that hype and has struggled in the NBA. The biggest reason for this is his shooting which is pretty bad. He is a career 41.6 percent shooter from the field and a career 29.6 percent three point shooter. Even worse is that he only shot 34.7 percent from the field and 17.6 percent from three in his last stop at Sacramento. Those are some gross shooting numbers!

However for the Raptors, they see the potential to get a lottery talent on the cheap. Even though he is 25 years old, the raptors see the potential in him and want to see if they can untap that potential that many saw when he came out of college. The Raptors are confident in their program and they have had many players who could not shoot and made them better. Also, the fact Josh Jackson will be fighting for his NBA life at the Raptors’ Training camp, is an incentive to up his game. The Raptors are hoping to see some of his talent in a competitive training camp.

Conclusion

If Josh Jackson comes into training camp and shows some potential, the Raptors could sign him to their G league affiliate team the 905. There he can further work on his game in the Raptors development program. However, if he wows everyone, perhaps he steals one of the final roster spots up for grabs. If he fails, their is little loss for Raptors as only on a training camp deal. Can Josh Jackson Jr. make the Raptors? Honestly, with the players coming into training camp, it is a long shot. However, stranger things have happened. All I know is that I cannot wait for training camp. It will be one of the most competitive ever!