Dwight

Buycks

“It’s open,” Casey said. “We’re looking for those spots. We have a lot of people who can step in and take that opportunity.” The backup point guard spot has Dwight Buycks competing against D.J. Augustin, and the wings have Austin Daye, Terrence Ross, Steve Novak and Landry Fields vying for minutes. Tyler Hansbrough seems like a lock to be the first big off the bench behind Jonas Valanciunas and Amir Johnson. We’ll be watching how Casey handles his bench in the preseason.

He’s a fun player with his fearlessness and creativity. Buycks got to the rack a lot on Thursday and he’ll even try to get some rebounds against some bigger opponents. He had a big week in Orlando with the Thunder, then the Raptors picked him up and are letting show what he can do in Vegas. The Raptors did sign D.J. Augustin, so the minutes might not be there for Buycks right off the bat. We’ll track his progress, though.

What’s not to like? He led Las Vegas Summer League in points and assists while doing it in a eye-catching, aggressive fashion. He’s going to compete with D.J. Augustin for the backup point guard job, and since we’ve already seen DJA’s ceiling, it’s hard to count out Buycks for that gig. For more on Buycks, check out Summer League Summary: Part 2 on our home page.

Buycks has been the primary backup to Kyle Lowry for the last six games, but is only averaging 3.1 points and 0.6 assists in his 11.4 minutes per game thus far. It’s unclear whether D.J. Augustin or Juylan Stone will backup Kyle Lowry Friday night, but neither one warrants any fantasy consideration.

He was marvelous in Las Vegas Summer League and led all players in points and assists per game, but it hasn’t quite translated to playing in the big leagues yet. Buycks can be left on the wire in every league.

He was away from the team for personal reasons and wasn’t with the team for Friday’s game. Buycks basically got his contract from a stellar summer league with the Thunder, but the transition to playing with the big boys hasn’t gone all that smoothly.

Vasquez has a $3.2 million qualifying offer for next season and it will be interesting to see how his arrival impacts Kyle Lowry, who is in the final year of his deal and has been playing without a legitimate backup PG all season. It’s possible that Dwane Casey will play the two guards together at times, shifting DeMar DeRozan or Terrence Ross to SF, but it’s safe to assume that K-Low will see a mild reduction in minutes and assists with a new playmaker in town. Vasquez has already been mired in a minute-share all season and his value shouldn’t change drastically while Lowry is installed as the starting PG.

The Raptors are suddenly playoff contenders and they might not be so willing to deal Kyle Lowry for a draft pick. Buycks was a superstar in Las Vegas Summer League as the top scorer, but it hasn’t translated to a high level of play in the NBA. He will likely put up some big numbers with the Bakersfield Jam.

Buycks has most recently played in China and in the D-League and will hope to earn a training camp invite with the Blazers. While the 27-year-old may hook on in Portland or elsewhere, he can be ignored by fantasy owners.

He worked out for some NBA teams this summer including the Blazers, but the 27-year-old guard will continue to grow his game overseas.