Raptors sign former lottery pick Josh Jackson

The Raptors signed free agent swingman Josh Jackson, the team announced (via Twitter). While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, it would be surprising if Jackson received a fully guaranteed contract.

The No. 4 overall pick of the 2017 draft after one season at Kansas, Jackson has struggled to gain traction in the NBA after being a highly touted but raw prospect.

He was drafted by Phoenix, where he spent his first two seasons, then was traded to Memphis in the 2019 offseason. Memphis declined the team option on the fourth year of his rookie contract, so despite being a high pick, he only spent three of a possible four years on his rookie deal.

Jackson signed a two-year, $9.77M contract with Detroit ahead of the 2020-21 season, but his on-court results were a mixed bag. He was in and out of the Pistons’ rotation last season and was traded to the Kings at the February deadline in the four-team deal that sent Marvin Bagley III to Detroit.

Unfortunately, Jackson played even less for Sacramento than he had for Detroit, appearing in just 12 games for a total of 123 minutes.

In 291 career games, including 92 starts (23.1 MPG), the 25-year-old holds averages of 11.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 1.8 APG on .416/.292/.680 shooting. Jackson has good size (6-8, 207 pounds) and above-average athleticism for a wing but struggles to score efficiently, turns the ball over a lot (two more turnovers than assists in his career) and isn’t a great defender even though he has the tools for it.

The Raptors currently have 17 players on standard deals, including 13 with fully guaranteed contracts, according to our roster count. Jackson will likely be among the group that includes Dalano Banton, Justin Champagnie and D.J. Wilson as players on partially guaranteed deals battling for the final spots on the 15-man roster.