2:37pm: The Raptors have officially signed Wiltjer, the team announced today. His deal will include a partial guarantee, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN (Twitter link).
9:10am: A month after being waived by the Clippers, Kyle Wiltjer has landed with a new team, according to Oliver Maroney and Robby Kalland of Dime, who report that the free agent forward has agreed to a one-year contract with the Raptors. It’ll be a non-guaranteed training camp deal.
“I’m just really excited to be back in Toronto and Canada,” Wiltjer said, per Maroney and Kalland. “I’ve been working really hard all summer long to get better in all facets of my game and I’m just happy that I’ll be in my home nation.”
Wiltjer, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, spent his rookie season with the Rockets in 2016/17, though he appeared in just 14 games for the club, playing very limited minutes. The 6’10” forward saw more action in the G League, averaging 20.5 PPG and 6.4 RPG with a .377 3PT% in 22 contests for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Because his contract with Houston included a non-guaranteed salary for 2017/18, Wiltjer was one of the pieces included in the Rockets’ Chris Paul deal for salary-matching purposes. The Clippers subsequently waived Wiltjer last month before his contract became guaranteed.
As our breakdown of offseason roster counts shows, the Raptors only have 13 guaranteed contracts on their roster at this point, so Wiltjer should have a chance to compete for one of those last two regular-season roster slots. He’ll battle the likes of Kennedy Meeks and Alfonzo McKinnie as he looks to earn a spot on Toronto’s 15-man squad.
Nice pick up by the Raptors – high potential with minimal liabilities and no character issues. The “Canada connection” is also a plus considering he’ll more than likely will be on Canada’s national/Olympic ream.