Raptors sign OKC Blue’s D.J. Wilson to hardship exception deal

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Toronto Raptors have signed Oklahoma City Blue product D.J. Wilson to a 10-day hardship deal. Wilson, who just had a 20 point and 10 rebounds double double on Tuesday’s Blue game, has averaged 13.9 points and 9.7 rebounds in 13 games this season.

The four-year NBA veteran has career averages of 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 142 games between the Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets. Wilson signed with the Thunder as a training camp invitee but did not make the final roster nor receive one of the two-way spots on the team.

When I spoke to Blue head coach Grant Gibbs last month, he mentioned how Wilson is probably too good to play in the G League and definitely deserved to play significantly more minutes, but due to player development priorities, he was not given that opportunity.

It looks like that opportunity will come with the Raptors with six of their players currently in health and safety protocols. The NBA recently implemented a new rule where if enough players are under COVID protocols, a team can create a roster spot(s) in order to have enough players to play in NBA games.

It was always odd to me why the Thunder never converted Wilson to Paul Watson Jr.’s two-way spot, who has only appeared in five games. Wilson is the much better and would be the best traditional big on the team immediately. Either way, it looks like healthy and safety protocols have given Wilson a chance to stick to an NBA roster.