2. Jodie Meeks
Fresh off winning his first NBA championship, Jodie Meeks is another former bullseye shooter who could fit that role of 12th/13th man on the bench
His career was derailed by injuries and a suspension after a positive performance-enhancing drug test, but the player before all of these events has long been forgotten.
How many remember that he has the best season of his career in LA? In 2013/14 season, under Mike D’Antoni, he averaged 15.7 points per game, shooting 40.1 percent from three and leading the Lakers in Win Share.
Following that season, he hit the market as one of the best and most promising shooters in the league. The sky was the limit for the young Meeks, just entering his prime in a league that emphasizes 3-point shooting, but things did not unfold the right way.
Hit by an unfortunate, as much as unbelievable, series of injuries that made him miss most of the time, he disappeared in the NBA landscape with that great season just a distant memory. Yet this past season Jodie proved enough to convince the soon-to-be NBA champion Toronto Raptors to take him on board, first with a 10-day contract and then full time.
He played sparingly in the North’s playoff run, but just the notion that he was signed tells us that he has enough left in the tank to be considered at least able to stand on the floor in garbage time and possibly step up in case of injuries.
Much like Fredette, he is another player who would benefit from LeBron James’s playing style. And who knows that a return to breath the air of the LA area does not ignite the spark of that legendary season.