Fresh off a late-season surge in Brooklyn, the former G League standout joins a crowded backcourt battle to prove he belongs in Toronto.
The Toronto Raptors are adding another guard to the mix ahead of training camp, but Malachi Smith's recent NBA experience gives the signing a little more intrigue than a typical end-of-roster addition.
Toronto announced Monday that it signed Smith to an undisclosed contract, filling out a roster that will soon head to Quebec City for training camp. With all three of the Raptors' two-way spots already occupied, the deal is likely to be a training camp contract, leaving Smith with an opportunity to play his way into the organization's plans for the upcoming season.
That opportunity would have seemed considerably less certain a year ago.
Smith spent much of his professional career moving between the NBA G League and opportunities elsewhere before finally getting an extended look with the Brooklyn Nets late last season. He initially signed consecutive 10-day contracts before Brooklyn converted him to a two-year non-guaranteed standard NBA deal on April 4.
Once he got on the floor, Smith gave the Nets enough to suggest there may be something worth developing.
The 26-year-old averaged 8.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists over 15 games, including four starts, while shooting 48.5 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from three-point range. He reached double figures six times and put together his best performance of the season April 10, when he finished with 19 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds against Milwaukee, according to The Canadian Press.
That stretch is probably the biggest reason Smith is worth watching in Toronto.
The Raptors don't need to enter camp expecting him to become a major part of the rotation. What they can offer him, though, is a chance to compete for a role within a team that has spent the last year moving from rebuilding toward something more ambitious.
Smith's experience also fits the developmental path Toronto has continued to use with its backcourt. Before reaching Brooklyn, he spent two G League seasons with the Rip City Remix, Wisconsin Herd and Memphis Hustle. He appeared in 39 games with Long Island last season, averaging 14.4 points, 5.7 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals.
That background could become especially useful if Smith doesn't make the NBA roster out of camp. A move to Raptors 905 would give Toronto another opportunity to keep him within the organization while continuing to evaluate a guard who has already shown he can handle NBA minutes.
There is still plenty of work between now and opening night. Toronto's training camp begins Sept. 29 after media day in Quebec City, and Smith will have to separate himself from the rest of the competition before the Raptors decide how much they want him involved.
For now, though, Toronto has added a player who has already experienced the difficult part of getting his first real NBA opportunity.
The next step is finding out whether Smith can turn that opportunity into something more permanent.
