Toronto Raptors Sign Point Guard Dwight Buycks After Impressive Orlando Summer League


Dwight Buycks Raptors

Mark J. Rebilas – USA Today Sports Images

The Toronto Raptors were in the market for a point guard to back up Kyle Lowry next season now that John Lucas has become a free-agent and doesn’t seem to have any interest in returning to Toronto. Though the Raptors have scoured the market, the Raptors ultimately found the answer to their need at the Orlando NBA Summer League.

Dwight Buycks played point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder this week at Summer League and really turned some heads. Buycks appeared in four games for the Thunder and played 21 minutes per game. He averaged 9.5 points, six assists, 2.5 rebounds and two steals per game while shooting a solid 48.1 percent from the field as well.

According to Thunder beat writer Darnell Mayberry, the Raptors offered Buycks a deal of which the terms have not been released yet. However, it’s clear that what he was able to put on display in Orlando really caught the eye of Toronto.

Buycks attended Marquette in college. In his final season with the Golden Eagles, he averaged just 8.8 points, 3.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game, but did shoot a solid 46.1 percent from the field and 41.1 percent from three. He went undrafted in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Buycks signed a deal with the Phoenix Suns as an undrafted free-agent, but eventually only played in the D-League. In 28 games in the 2011-2012 season, he averaged 15.1 points, 2.6 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game on 49.7 percent shooting and 35.1 percent three-point shooting. Last season in France, Buycks played 32 games and averaged 18 points, 2.9 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 48.6 percent from the field and 38.4 percent from long-range.

More than likely, Buycks isn’t going to come into the league and set it on fire. However, it’s not hard to imagine him serving as a solid backup for the Raptors. He’s an efficient scorer for a guard, a solid game-manager, and, at the least, an average defender. With Masai Ujiri taking charge in Toronto, he may have found his first bargain pickup.

Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20, add him on Google+ and like his Facebook page.


Sign Up
for the

We Recommend

Partner with USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties