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Raptors forego shot blocking due to presence of two-way contract

Posted on by Vaseline

A day before the first round of the NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors announced that they had waived forward Mouhamadou Gueye (not to be confused with Mouhamed Gueye). The 25-year-old went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft after a lengthy college stint. He was signed to a two-way contract, so the move opens up a spot for Toronto to fill. Either another team can claim him and have him as a two-way player for 2024-25, or he will clear waivers and become an unrestricted free agent.

At 6-foot-1, Gueye originally signed a 10-day contract with the Raptors. Once the ten days were up, the team decided to keep him in that two-way deal. Only one of the Raptors’ three two-way spots is now occupied by DJ Carton.

Raptors waive shot blocking presence on two-way contract

Mouhamadou Gueye received 11 games of action

After making his NBA debut with the Raptors on February 12, Gueye will play another 10 games for the team last season. In his eleven appearances, the New York native averaged 10.9 minutes. His per-game averages were 2.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.3 steals and 1.6 blocks. He shot just 11-38 from the field (28.9%), 0-3 from three-point territory and 4-9 from the free throw line (44.4%).

His best quality is shot blocking, even if he needs more work on other facets of his game. In each of his final three NBA games last season, Gueye recorded three blocks. He had at least one blocked shot in 10 of his 11 NBA appearances.

Gueye also rejected the opponent’s shot quite often at the G League level. In 2023-24, he played in 26 regular season games for Toronto’s G League affiliate, Raptors 905. He averaged 3.1 blocks per game. With Raptors 905, Gueye would also average 15.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.8 steals. Although he shot 54.3% from the field, he did most of it down low. He went just 4-20 (20%) from beyond the arc and 17-34 (50%) from the charity line.

Played collegiately at three different schools

Gueye began his college career in 2016-17 at Monroe College of the National Junior College Athletic Association. After playing sparingly as a freshman, he had to sit out the following season due to academic issues. Gueye played much better in the 2018/19 season, making the jump to Division I.

Prior to the 2019-2020 season, Gueye transferred to Stony Brook University. He became a regular starter the following season and averaged an impressive 3.1 blocks per game. Gueye was named America East Defensive Player of the Year and was also named to the All-Conference Third Team.

With the COVID-19 pandemic granting college athletes an extra year of eligibility, Gueye transferred to the University of Pittsburgh for his final college season in 2021-2022. He started 28 of his 32 games for them, averaging 9.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. Along with Stony Brook and Pittsburgh, he shot 73.4% from the free throw line, which is much better than he has shown at the professional level.