Toronto Raptors: What Jordan Loyd brings to the roster

The Toronto Raptors signed Jordan Loyd to a two-way contract after he negotiated his way out of a deal with a Turkish club.

Jordan Loyd appeared to miss his deadline to get out of Turkey and back to the NBA.

Yet here he is, joining the Toronto Raptors on a two-way contract that could provide the team with important rotational depth.

Sportando was the first to announce Loyd’s imminent buyout with Darussafaka, as well as his two-way contract with Toronto.

The deal almost didn’t happen, though. There’s a deadline for NBA teams to buy players out of international contracts, which passed almost two weeks ago. That put the onus on Loyd to get out of his deal and into the NBA.

Evidently he got it done, a worthwhile endeavor after his decent NBA Summer League showing with Toronto.

He flashed potential during his first Summer League game of the season, dropping 17 points to lead all Raptors in scoring, which included two 3-point makes. He also grabbed two rebounds and dished three assists.

Unfortunately, back spasms limited him to just over two games over the summer.

Loyd has spent the past couple of summers with Toronto, so the team is intimately familiar with what he brings to the court. Last year, however, he was showcasing his stuff half a world away.

The guard suited up for Hapoel Eilat in Israel, where he proved to be an All-Star. He averaged 17.4 points per game, trailing only Glen Rice Jr. in the league (who was eventually released after a fight with a teammate).

Prior to that, he had a relatively successful year in the G League with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. In his lone season in the NBA’s developmental league, he averaged 15.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

So what does he bring to the Raptors now?

For starters, he brings a hardworking mentality developed over years of proving his doubters wrong.

He split his college career between Furman and Indianapolis, a Division II school. He wasn’t selected in the NBA Draft. He didn’t make it to the NBA during his season in the G League. He’s clearly got a chip on his shoulder he’s ready to harness.

Beyond that, the Raptors have someone who is willing to develop into a more versatile player to make his career stick. He was originally projected to be more of a shooting guard professionally until the Raptors tried him at point guard over the summer.

He managed to dish 11 assists to just four turnovers over the course of this experiment, revealing a propensity to play it safe with the ball while finding his teammates for scoring opportunities.

Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic reports that Loyd also lost 20 pounds last summer in an effort to improve his explosiveness.

Loyd may struggle to make the final roster when the time comes. The Raptors already have two very talented point guards in Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet. Delon Wright is also waiting in the wings.

The Raptors have had their eye on Jordan Loyd for several years, though. It’s time for him to prove that the attention has been warranted.