Desperate times call for desperate measures, and the situation in Toronto, where the Raptors are 3-13 on the season, definitely fits the description.
That might explain the team’s latest personnel move, which is the decision to bring in Mickael Pietrus to help turn things around.
Sam Amick of USA Today reports that the Raptors have agreed to sign Pietrus and plan on releasing Dominic McGuire once the deal is finalized.
Pietrus can occasionally put up numbers as an outside shooter, and is an above average perimeter defender. Last season in Boston he appeared in 42 games, and averaged 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in almost 22 minutes of action per contest.
As a role player in this league, Pietrus is somewhere firmly planted in the middle of the serviceable scale, and can be more productive on the court than many subs actively playing in the league that found themselves with guaranteed roster spots to start the season.
Personality issues are likely the reason it’s taken so long for Pietrus to find a home this season, as his goofball act tends to wear thin pretty quickly in a new locker room, and is no longer worth dealing with given his diminished levels of production.
We’ll see how it plays out in Toronto, where he’ll have plenty of opportunity to help a team that desperately needs it.