Analyzing newly acquired acquisition Langston Galloway
As the first day of free agency kicked off last week, the Detroit Pistons popped into action by acquiring shooting guard Langston Galloway.
Langston Galloway, 25, comes from St. Joseph’s University and was undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft. Galloway got his first taste of NBA action playing for the New York Knicks in the NBA Summer League which resulted in a contract. In Galloway’s three years in the NBA, he has played for four different teams.
Langston can play both guard positions, although the Pistons will most likely be playing him behind Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or rookie Luke Kennard. SVG had already addressed the need before free-agency that some of the needs for the team contained a wing player, a third string point guard, and a third string center. Galloway will likely be a reserve player but could fill a role if starting point guard Reggie Jackson has reciprocal of last season.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Pistons agreed to terms with Galloway worth 21 million for three years.
Coming at 6’2″, you wouldn’t think of him as a shooting guard, but his shooting range begs to differ. Last season he played for both the New Orleans Pelicans and the Sacramento Kings. For most of the season, he played with the Pelicans where he averaged 8.6 per game playing just over 20 minutes a game.
By the numbers, his shooting abilities may not be striking at 39 percent from beyond the arc, but he has a quick release, and when he gets hot there is no stopping him. Here’s what now teammate Tobias Harris had to say about him.
"“It’s great for us; he’s a guy who is going to bring a type of leadership to our team, someone who can score the ball and play both positions. He’s a great locker-room guy also, a high-character guy. I know a lot about him, just from hearing about him from different people. He’ll definitely help us out a lot.”"
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Leadership was another missing piece that the Pistons didn’t have last season, and maybe a high character guy like Galloway might be that piece. Galloway may not get the minutes he wants because the backcourt is clustered with guys like Reggie Jackson, Ish Smith, KCP, and Luke Kennard so he will need to prove himself in some way or he be riding the bench for a lot of money.