D.J. Wilson is back with the Toronto Raptors.
Toronto has re-signed the 26-year-old big to his third 10-day contract, the team announced Monday morning. Wilson will be available immediately and is eligible to play through Toronto's next six games.
Wilson had previously signed two 10-day COVID-19 hardship contracts that allowed the Raptors to bring in replacement players during their COVID-19 outbreaks. He was brought in alongside Tremont Waters, Juwan Morgan, Brandon Goodwin, and Daniel Oturu earlier in the season and averaged 8 points and 4.7 rebounds in his three games with the Raptors.
Despite a lack of playing time, Wilson caught the attention of Raptors coach Nick Nurse who said he wanted to get another look at the 6-foot-10 big man when Toronto signed him to his second 10-day contract back in January.
"Well, first of all, we liked him," Nurse said at the time. "We thought he played really good and his two stints that he had. I thought he picked things up quickly. He's got some size and some mobility, finished around the basket. Think he could shoot a little bit, although he hasn't taken many shots for us. He's historically made some perimeter shots. Just want to continue to evaluate and look at him as another kind of versatile, athletic guy."
Toronto has had an empty roster spot for most of the season but it wasn't until the trade deadline that the Raptors freed up enough cap space to bring in a player without paying into the luxury tax. By moving Goran Dragic's contract to the San Antonio Spurs for Thad Young, Toronto created enough room to start taking another look at players like Wilson.
Wilson, a former first-round pick by the Milwaukee Bucks, shouldn't get too much playing time, but the Raptors will get another chance to watch him train in practice with a chance to stick around for the remainder of this season or potentially earn a spot on Toronto's training camp roster next year.
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