Detroit Pistons Summer League expectations

Michael Gbinije

Watch out for: Ability to run an offense, energy
Stats Predictor: 9 points, 3 rebounds, 5.5 assists

Down to the rookies. I’ll go with the older, yet later pick, Michael Gbinije. Recently touted as the starting point guard for the Pistons’ Summer League team. Gbinije has size, length, and athleticism. He began his college career on the wing at Duke before transferring to Syracuse where they saw him a better fit at the point guard position.

He seems like a bit of a pet project for Stan Van Gundy, who has enjoyed moulding players like Gbinije into point guard, or point forward type of players. Hedo Turkgolu comes to mind. Many people didn’t expect Van Gundy to take Gbinije in the second round. With point guards Yogi Ferrel and Kay Felder still on the board, it seemed a no brainer to pick a true point guard after having just drafted a power forward in the first round.

Van Gundy himself also said he had Ferrel as a top 30 pick and talked of Felder highly, which goes to show you how he feels about the tweener Gbinije. Another reason Stan leaned towards Gbinjie would have to do with his four years in college and his age.

The current Pistons team is young enough as it is, imagine adding 19-year old Ellenson and then another player of a similar age, the Pistons would potentially have one of the youngest benches ever. Gbinije is a smart mature player and I sense him being the X-factor not only in this Summer League, but potentially in the Pistons squad next season.

You can’t really put any expectation on Gbinije for his first Summer League. Nor can you for most rookies. But a few things I would like to see from him would be his ability to run an offense. With all of the prospects he’ll be lining up with I’d like to see how well he gets his team mates going, as well as seeing if he can keep the game up tempo with a lot of energy. These are key areas.

If Gbinije is able to prove to the coaching staff he is capable of those two things to begin with, as well as put his length to good use on the defensive end, Michael could maybe find himself in a role much to what Hilliard had last season. He could get spot minutes whether it be at the 1, 2 or 3 position and help out with ball handling duties. Unless he proves to be a complete force in Summer League, I would rule out potentially being the backup point guard to Reggie Jackson.

Next: Henry Ellenson