After releasing Justin Champagnie, the Toronto Raptors have had an open roster spot for some time. In Joe Wieskamp, they filled it, at least for a short period. The news was first reported by Woj.
Wieskamp is a 6-foot-6 shooter from Iowa who’s played in the San Antonio Spurs system for a few seasons. The “shooter” component might be an understatement. He shot 41.2 percent from deep in three seasons in college and 37.8 percent over two seasons in the G League. He shot 32.6 percent from deep with the Spurs’ NBA squad last season, but in only 43 attempts in 29 games. (He took over 70 percent of his shots from deep.) Trust the sample of his G-League and college careers much more. And aesthetically, his stroke is gorgeous.
This seems more like a short-term addition than a high-upside, long-term swing. He’s 23 years old and has limited athleticism at the NBA level. The Raptors likely won’t use him off the bench for extended run, particularly with the team relatively healthy at the moment. Champagnie, for all his success at the G-League level, couldn’t get off the bench with the Raptors.
But perhaps Wieskamp plugs into a lineup in the end of a dreary second quarter and hits a triple. Maybe he hits another, leads a comeback, and actually gets some low-leverage rotation run. It’s not unthinkable. The Raptors have tried a number of end-of-bench shooting options over the last few seasons, including Armoni Brooks, Svi Mykhailiuk, Sam Dekker, and others. Wieskamp is likely the most accurate of the bunch.
Remember: teams rotate the end of the roster fairly regularly. This is a normal piece of business for the Raptors, and it is not intended alone to fix what ails them. Wieskamp is a young shooter, and he may well see more time with the Raptors 905 (also struggling at the moment) than the Raptors. But at the very least there’s another proven shooter coming to join the bench.
