The Toronto Raptors have signed 24-year-old shooting guard Matt Thomas to a three-year contract worth $4.2 million, per The Athletic's Shams Charania.
Thomas, an American, has played in Spain in Liga ACB, the country's top basketball association. Last season he played for Valencia, where he put up 11.5 points and 1.6 assists in 29 games while shooting 48.5 percent from long range.
Thomas spent four years at Iowa State University before declaring for the 2017 NBA Draft. He went undrafted and briefly spent time with the Los Angeles Lakers' Summer League team two years ago.
Thomas is regarded as the top shooting threat outside the NBA. Per Synergy Basketball on Twitter, Thomas shot an effective field-goal percentage (eFG%) of 82 percent on catch-and-shoot jump shots and 99 percent when unguarded.
Matt Thomas was arguably the top jump shooter outside of the NBA last season posting an eFG% of 82% on catch and shoot jump shots including 99% when left unguarded.
— Synergy Basketball (@SynergySST) July 1, 2019
The Raptors are looking to reload and repeat. However, that might not be so easy if unrestricted free agent and Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard decides to leave the Canadian franchise. Leonard will meet with the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, and later Raptors, and his decision could be made later this week.
Thomas is another depth piece and perimeter threat for a Toronto team that prided itself for its strong bench to carry them to the playoffs and sustain opponents' offensive torrents. Key contributors like Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell and Most Improved Player Pascal Siakam were crucial to the success and development of the team.
The Raptors hope Matt Thomas can bring the type of energy and spacing, which they've become accustomed to from their bench.
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