Brisbane Bullets have acted on NBA-bound Torrey Craig's departure, signing small forward Perrin Buford ahead of the NBL season.
Craig was picked up by Denver after impressing at the NBA Summer League, leaving the Bullets scrambling to replace their star import.
The 23-year-old Buford played for Boston in the Summer League and is coming off a strong season with Italian outfit Agrigento, where he led the team in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocks.
Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis compared Buford to Mika Vukona, whom he coached at the New Zealand Breakers.
"He plays defence, he rebounds, he runs the ball hard," Lemanis said.
"The thing I liked about him particularly when talking to him is that he understands what it takes to win."
Announced by the club on Thursday, Alabama-native Buford joins former Melbourne United import Stephen Holt in Brisbane and will be part of the touring party to the United States to play the Phoenix.
The Bullets play the Suns on October 13, in what could be problematic timing given it is sandwiched between NBL regular season games on October 7 and October 15.
