Mike Kyser signs with Toronto Raptors

Former Louisiana Tech forward Mike Kyser had a feeling the Toronto Raptors would keep him around after wrapping up a productive summer league last week in Las Vegas.

What he thought he'd feel and what he actually felt were two different things Monday when he inked a one-year contract with the Raptors.

"I knew they liked me a lot so I really didn't have a doubt in my mind that they were going to give me a chance, but when I found out this morning, it's only a one-year thing, but just giving me a try is a blessing, man," Kyser told The News-Star via telephone from Vancouver. "I started crying because just me going undrafted and having only have two to three workouts, I mean it's hard for someone to get noticed. I'm glad they gave me a shot.

"The emotions just hit me."

Kyser, who wasn't among the 60 players selected in June's draft, averaged 3.5 points in four summer league games with the Raptors. He failed to make an appearance in the first game July 10 against Sacramento, but finished strong last Friday against Portland with 12 points (5-of-13 from the field), seven rebounds, three blocks and two assists in 28 minutes of action.

RealGM.com first reported Monday that Kyser had reached an agreement with the Raptors on a partially-guaranteed contract.

Kyser, who will get a portion of the contract now with the second half to come if he sticks around until training camp, later tweeted out a picture of him inking the deal.

Kyser, a lanky 6-10 forward, set a program record at Tech with 363 career blocks. He generated post-draft interest despite averaging just 8.6 points to go along with 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game in 2015.

The Texas native wanted to show he was more than a shot blocker, which he did against Portland with several mid-range jump shots.

"I was waiting for my shot," Kyser said. "When I was starting that game in pregame I just told myself to go out there and play. I really didn't have nothing to lose."

It didn't come without patience, though, after Kyser sat the bench the entire first game. Kyser didn't even get to take off his warmup, but he spent the entire time cheering on his teammates and was regularly the first person off the bench during timeouts.

"To be honest, it was tough just coming from Tech. Me playing a lot of games and starting and then to sit on the bench the whole game, it really humbled me to try and get better regardless of what I'm doing," Kyser said. "I know I got a lot to improve on. When I was on the bench, I was just trying to be the best teammate I could be, helping out and learning from what other people did."

Kyser saw his first action of summer league July 12 against Chicago when he failed to score a point in 14 minutes. He scored his first two points and pulled down five rebounds in a July 13 contest against Houston. In this third game, Kyser didn't score in six minutes before putting his best effort together in his final game against Portland.

Kyser worked out twice for the Raptors in June and also drew interest from the Los Angeles Clippers. He said last month he had an idea Toronto would invite him to summer league in Las Vegas but was still unsure if he had a future at the next level.

"In college, I knew I was going to play. I'm not saying I didn't give 110 percent, but now that it's a job, you can't go a day without grinding. I learned that," Kyser said. "You have to take yourself as a professional and try to do the right thing."

Kyser will remain in Vancouver to train for the next few weeks. He'll return to Ruston in August when he's set to graduate after the summer quarter.

"I've always been overlooked. I'm just doing whatever I can to stay inside the NBA," he said.