Fultz’s G League run earns him 10-Day deal with Raptors

It is official. The Toronto Raptors have upgraded their guard depth by signing the former first overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft, Markelle Fultz, to a 10-day contract.

The 27-year-old point guard has not played in the NBA this season but has appeared in five games with the Raptors 905 of the G League. In that stretch, he has looked impressive at times, averaging 9.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 6.2 assists.

This will be the fourth team Fultz has been a part of in the last nine seasons. Following an extremely collegiate career with the University of Washington, the Philadelphia 76ers chose to use their No. 1 pick of the 2017 draft on Fultz. He was chosen ahead of many notable names, including Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adebayo, De’Aaron Fox, Lauri Markkanen, etc.

Fultz spent the first two seasons of his career with the 76ers, both riddled with injuries, and he was only able to lace up for a combined 33 games. During the 2019-20 season, he was shipped off to the Orlando Magic for Johnathon Simmons, a 2020 first-round pick (via OKC), and a 2019 second-round pick.

Fultz bounced back and was able to stay healthy for his first season with the Magic, averaging 12.7 points across 72 games. That performance earned him a new deal, and he spent the following four seasons with the organization, during which injuries hit him hard again, including a torn ACL in 2021.

Last season, the Sacramento Kings took another flyer on Fultz, but he was barely utilized. Fultz played just 21 games, with the games averaging less than nine minutes of action.

Over 255 career games in the NBA, Fultz has averaged 10.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 4.4 assists while shooting 47 percent from the field and just 28 percent from beyond the arc.

Now, Fultz will be getting another shot at redemption in his career with a team that lacks guard depth. Outside of Immanuel Quickley, Jamal Shead is the only true point guard on the squad. He has struggled immensely in the last few weeks. Shead has not tallied double-digits in a game since Feb.25, back when the Raptors took on the San Antonio Spurs.

The 39-31 Raptors sit fifth in the Eastern Conference, a half-game ahead of the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers. Toronto is in Utah on Monday night to play the Jazz. With the trade deadline already way past, the Raptors will need all the help they can get. They will just need to hope that Fultz still has something left in the tank at an NBA level.

You can read all about the Toronto Raptors’ recent struggles here:

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