Blogs > Pistons' Point

An inside look at the Detroit Pistons and the NBA.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Pistons announce summer league roster

The Pistons announced their summer league roster on Wednesday. It features second-year players Jonas Jerebko, DaJuan Summers and Austin Daye as well as recent draft picks Greg Monroe and Terrico White.

The roster also features Jared Reiner, who has played 46 career NBA games (19 in 2004-05 with the Bulls, 27 with the Bucks in 2006-07). The 6-foot-11 Reiner played in Puerto Rico last season after being cut at the end of training camp by the Timberwolves.

The rest of the roster is filled with undrafted rookies, including California's Patrick Christopher, Nothern Iowa's Jordan Eglseder, UT Arlington's Marquez Haynes, DePaul's Mac Koshwal, UAB's Elijah Millsap, Western Kentucky's A.J. Slaughter and Louisville's Edgar Sosa.

Pistons summer league roster
Patrick Christopher G 6-5 220 California 6/3/88 R
Austin Daye F 6-11 190 Gonzaga 6/5/88 1
Jordan Eglseder C 7-0 280 Northern Iowa 7/27/88 R
Marquez Haynes G 6-3 185 UT Arlington 12/19/86 R
Jonas Jerebko F 6-10 231 Kinna, Sweden 3/2/87 1
Mac Koshwal F/C 6-10 255 DePaul 10/19/87 R
Elijah Millsap G/F 6-6 215 UAB 8/12/87 R
Greg Monroe F/C 6-11 253 Georgetown 6/4/90 R
Jared Reiner C 6-11 255 Iowa 4/8/82 2
A.J. Slaughter G 6-3 180 Western Kentucky 8/3/87 R
DaJuan Summers F 6-8 240 Georgetown 1/24/88 1
Edgar Sosa G 6-1 175 Louisville 1/15/88 R
Terrico White G 6-5 213 Mississippi 3/7/90 R

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

NBA TV to broadcast Detroit Pistons summer league games

NBA TV will broadcast all five of the Pistons summer league games in Las Vegas. Four of the five games will be broadcast live by NBA TV.

Pistons vs. Lakers on July 9 (8:00 p.m.), Pistons vs. Golden State on July 10 (8:00 p.m.), Pistons vs. Sacramento on July 12 (6:00 p.m.) and Pistons vs. New York on July 16 (4:00 p.m.) will all be broadcast live. Detroit vs. Miami on July 14 (10:30 p.m.) will be shown tape delayed.

Both Pistons draft picks Greg Monroe and Terrico White are expected to play on Detroit's summer league team along with Jonas Jerebko, DaJuan Summers and Austin Daye.

NBA TV will air the full NBA Summer League schedule along with offering live daily studio programming with NBA GameTime.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Pistons love Terrico White's athleticism

The first two words out of Pistons vice president of basketball operations Scott Perry’s mouth when describing second-round pick Terrico White were: Very athletic.

The measurements from the NBA Draft combine back up Perry’s assessment. Terrico had the top vertical (30 inches), the fifth fastest sprint and the lowest body fat percentage (3.7 percent) at the combine.

“We’ll see what he does in the summer league then we’ll get an opportunity to watch him in training camp,” Perry said. “I know one thing, he’s an NBA caliber athlete. He’ll be able to compete athletically. How quickly he picks up on the offensive system and those types of things, learns the defensive schemes. I think that will play a big role in how quickly he is able to get on the court.”

The 6-foot-5 White played both guard positions at Mississippi and averaged 15.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists as a sophomore last season.

“I think he’s a versatile guard,” Perry said. “He’s going to be able to give us a guy that can play both guard positions. It will be good to look at him this summer, being able to play a little point and two. We really like (him), especially where we were able to draft him. He was a guy that was viewed by many to go late in the first round. It was great to be able to get a guy like that at that pick.”

Perry is also optimistic White will be able to defend at the NBA level.

“Defensively, he’s got all the potential to be a good, sound defender,” Perry said. “He was a high school quarterback. I always like those two sport guys. We think he’s got a good opportunity and good upside to become a good defender in this league.”

The Pistons drafting White came as a surprise to some considering Detroit’s depth at the guard position. There were several big man still on the board, including Tulsa’s Jerome Jordan, Georgia Tech’s Gani Lawal and Oklahoma’s Tiny Gallon. But Perry and the Pistons believed White’s potential outweighed the potential of any of the big men.

“Not as much as this kid did,” Perry said when asked if Detroit was tempted by any of the big men. “You get to a point in the draft where you say, ‘Is this guy really still on the board?’ when you really had him projected going in the first round so you have to take a stab at that type of talent at that point. We were happy we were able to do so.”

White was a member of the gold-medal winning United States under 19 national team in the FIBA World Championship in 2009.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Pistons draft Mississippi's Terrico White No. 36 overall

The Pistons selected Mississippi guard Terrico White in the second round with the No. 36 overall pick. The 6-foot-5 White averaged 15.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists for the Rebels as a sophomore last season.

White played both guard positions at Mississippi.

Pistons take Georgetown's Greg Monroe No. 7 overall

AUBURN HILLS — The Pistons addressed their thin frontcourt Thursday by selecting Georgetown’s Greg Monroe No. 7 overall in the NBA Draft.
Monroe is a skilled big man, who has drawn praise for his passing ability and court vision. Monroe averaged 3.8 assists a game for Georgetown last season.
The 6-foot-11, 247-pound Monroe has a solid post up game and will provide an instant boost to the Pistons offense. He averaged 16.1 points and shot 52.5 percent from the field last season. But Monroe needs to improve his jump shot and be able to knock down the mid-range jumper.
Monroe will also help Detroit on the glass. Monroe averaged 9.6 rebounds last season, including 2.2 offensive.
He can defend the interior well, but struggles when defending out on the perimeter. He averaged 1.5 blocks and 1.2 steals last season.
An interesting note, Monroe never worked out the for the Pistons.
The first three picks in the draft went as expected. John Wall went No. 1 to the Wizards, Evan Turner went No. 2 to the 76ers and Derrick Favors went No. 3 to the Nets.
The Timberwolves took Wesley Johnson No. 4, the Kings drafted DeMarcus Cousins No. 5 and the Warriors selected Ekpe Udoh No. 6.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

NBA mock draft 2010

Here's my mock draft for Thursday's NBA Draft. In my opinion DeMarcus Cousins and Greg Monroe are 1-2 on the Pistons wish list, but I don't see either falling to No. 7. From there the debate is between Ed Davis, Ekpe Udoh and Al-Farouq Aminu. I debated long and hard between Davis and Udoh and ultimately went with Davis, which means the Pistons will likely select Udoh just to prove me wrong. Should be interesting, but here's my guess as to how it all plays out.

1. Wizards — John Wall, Kentucky
2. 76ers — Evan Turner, Ohio State
3. Nets — Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech
4. Timberwolves — Wesley Johnson, Syracuse
5. Kings — DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky
6. Warriors — Greg Monroe, Georgetown
7. Pistons — Ed Davis, North Carolina
8. Clippers — Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest
9. Jazz — Luke Babbitt, Nevada
10. Pacers — Ekpe Udoh, Baylor
11. Hornets — Xavier Henry, Kansas
12. Grizzlies — Paul George, Fresno State
13. Raptors — Cole Aldrich, Kansas
14. Rockets — Gordon Hayward, Butler
15. Bucks — Patrick Patterson, Kentucky
16. Timberwolves — Avery Bradley, Texas
17. Bulls — James Anderson, Oklahoma State
18. Thunder — Hassan Whiteside, Marshall
19. Celtics — Larry Sanders, VCU
20. Spurs — Solomon Alabi, Florida State
21. Thunder — Eric Bledsoe, Kentucky
22. Trailblazers — Daniel Orton, Kentucky
23. Timberwolves — Kevin Seraphin, France
24. Hawks — Elliot Williams, Memphis
25. Grizzlies — Damion James, Texas
26. Thunder — Tibor Pleiss, Germany
27. Nets — Quincy Pondexter, Washington
28. Grizzlies — Armon Johnson, Nevada
29. Magic — Greivis Vasquez, Maryland
30. Wizards — Jordan Crawford, Xavier

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Pistons release sample list of players they worked out

The Pistons released a sample list of players they had in for workouts. The list contains 30 players. According to the release, Detroit worked out between 60-70 players.

Of the 30 players on the list only three (Cole Aldrich, Kansas, Ed Davis, North Carolina and Ekpe Udoh, Baylor) will be in consideration for the No. 7 overall pick. There is an outside shot they could take Patrick Patterson (Kentucky), Eric Bledsoe (Kentucky) or Avery Bradley (Texas), but it's doubtful. What the list means is really up for debate. Do they like these players or are they releasing a list of players they don't like or a mixture of both? Who knows, but we will find out on Thursday. Here is the list:

Deon Thompson - North Carolina
Raymar Morgan - Michigan State
Deshawn Sims - Michigan
Mikhail Torrance - Alabama
Ryan Richards - Europe
Eric Bledsoe - Kentucky
Cole Aldrich - Kansas
Avery Bradley - Texas
Ed Davis - North Carolina
Armon Johnson - Nevada
Darington Hobson - New Mexico
Ekpe Udoh - Baylor
Willie Warren - Oklahoma
Thomas Huertel - Europe
Sherron Collins - Kansas
Edwin Jackson - Europe
Charles Garcia - Seattle
Tim Olbrecht - Europe
Patrick Patterson - Kentucky
Gani Lawal - Georgia Tech
Jarvis Varnado - Mississippi State
Sylven Landesberg - Virginia
Craig Brackins - Iowa State
AJ Slaughter - Western Kentucky
Ben Uzoh - Tulsa
Johnathan James - Oakland
Derick Nelson - Oakland
Ryan Thompson - Rider
Elijah Millsap - UAB
Landon Milbourne - Maryland

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Jerebko, Daye, Summers on Pistons' summer league roster

Jonas Jerebko, Austin Daye and DaJuan Summers will all be on the Pistons summer league roster. Detroit will take part in the Las Vegas summer league in July. Games will be played on the UNLV campus at the Thomas & Mack Center and the COX Pavilion.

The Pistons will take on Golden State and Sacramento, the two teams drafting right before them so depending on who the teams draft, you could see some of the top draft picks go head-to-head. The full Pistons summer league schedule is below:

Pistons summer league schedule
July 9, vs. L.A. Lakers, 8 p.m.
July 10, vs. Golden State, 8 p.m.
July 12, vs. Sacramento, 6 p.m.
July 14, vs. Miami, 10:30 p.m.
July 16, vs. New York, 4 p.m.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

NBA Draft preview: Wake Forest's Al-Farouq Aminu

The Pistons are expected to take a big man with the No. 7 pick in the NBA Draft. The wild card that could cause Detroit to change its mind is Wake Forest's Al-Farouq Aminu. The 6-foot-9, 215-pound Aminu has drawn comparisons to Atlanta's Josh Smith. He averaged 15.8 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.4 steals for Wake Forest last season as a sophomore. Aminu is still just 19 and likely has room to improve. ESPN's Chad Ford has the Pistons taking Aminu in his latest mock draft as does DraftExpress.com. Here are some highlight videos for you to judge for yourself:

Aminu highlights part 1


Aminu highlights part 2


Aminu draft combine interview

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Citi to advise Pistons sale

The Detroit Pistons released a press release Wednesday announcing Citi will be a financial advisor in the sale of Palace Sports and Entertainment and the Detroit Pistons. It's another step forward in the sale of the Pistons with this announcement "officially" putting the team on the market. Time will tell if there will be any interested buyers, but don't be surprised if this process takes a while. The full press release is below:

Citi Private Bank Sports Advisory (Citi), has been engaged as financial advisor in connection with the sale of Palace Sports & Entertainment, Inc., and the Detroit Pistons Basketball Company. The National Basketball Association has been informed of the engagement and that Citi is in contact with a number of interested parties. Given the confidential nature and unpredictable timeframe of any negotiations, neither the owners nor the management of The Palace and the Pistons will be commenting further on this process until there is substantive news to report.

NBA Draft preview: North Carolina's Ed Davis

North Carolina's Ed Davis is an intriguing prospect. Davis broke his wrist ending his sophomore season early. Davis was somewhat of a disappointment considering the high expectations put on him after a stellar freshman year. Many considered Davis a top-5 pick last season if he came out, but he didn't do himself any favors in the 24 games he played for the Tar Heels this season. Davis averaged 12.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocks.

At 6-foot-9, 227 pounds Davis could add frontcourt help, but will likely struggle if asked to play center. An interesting sidenote, Davis has a long history with Ben Wallace. Davis' father Terry Davis like Wallace is a Virginia Union product. Davis and Wallace often workout together in the offseason and Davis even calls Wallace uncle.

Some mock drafts have the Pistons taking Davis at No. 7, but others having him falling out of the lottery. Here are some highlights for you to judge for yourself:

Ed Davis highlights


Davis draft combine interview


Davis highlights from 2009