Detroit Pistons wanted Yogi Ferrell
The Detroit Pistons wanted Yogi Ferrell, but the Brooklyn Nets pounced on the undrafted free agent.
Is Yogi Ferrell the next Isaiah Thomas? Is he better than Isaiah Thomas?
Sorry, I had to add that ridiculous narrative to make up for that utter disaster that ESPN put together which asked if the Boston Celtics point guard is better than one of the 50-greatest players all-time in Detroit Pistons great Isiah Thomas.
In all seriousness, Ferrell has taken the NBA by storm averaging 14.2 points, 4.7 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.6 steals in just 10-games with the Mavericks. He’s been so good that the Mavs have signed him to a multi-year deal in this small sample size.
The Pistons could have used a guy like Ferrell, particularly early on when Reggie Jackson was still recovering from a knee injury.
The NBA may be surprised by Ferrell’s ascension, but he’s a player Stan Van Gundy targeted after draft night.
"“He’s a guy on draft night that didn’t get drafted, and we tried to get in the race for some money to have him guaranteed,” Pistons president-coach Stan Van Gundy said. “But Brooklyn had gobbled him up. He ended up getting cut there and has really latched on and played very, very well for Dallas.”"
Van Gundy could have tried to make a move for him after Ferrell was cut by the Nets, though I don’t think that happened as Van Gundy didn’t say as much.
Adding Ferrell could have been a really nice developmental move, though there’s pretty much no chance he would’ve gotten playing time with the Pistons. After all, Van Gundy is notoriously tough on rookies and there’s no way he would have trusted Ferrell over Beno Udrih.
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It’s fun to speculate about what could have been though. Had Ferrell gotten the chance when Jackson was out, perhaps he would have have been able to carve out a role with the team.