Pistons exercise team options on Stanley Johnson and Henry Ellenson
By Duncan Smith
The Detroit Pistons announced Sunday afternoon that they were exercising 2018-19 team options for both Stanley Johnson and Henry Ellenson.
The Detroit Pistons wrapped up their required roster moves before their regular season gets started on Wednesday with several weekend announcements.
As expected, the Pistons waived Beno Udrih Saturday night to bring their active roster down to 14 players, which they’ve planned on carrying since the summer began.
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On Sunday, they announced that the 2018-19 team options have been picked up for both Stanley Johnson and Henry Ellenson.
Johnson is guaranteed $3.097 million this season and will be due $3.94 million next season. As for Ellenson, he is guaranteed $1.78 million this season and will be due $1.86 million next season.
Johnson is beginning his third season in the NBA, while Ellenson is entering his sophomore campaign.
This preseason has been something of a coming of age for both players. Johnson started four of the Pistons’ five preseason games and showed a shooting stroke we weren’t sure he had. He scored just 8.8 points per game but did so on 43.8 percent shooting from three-point range.
After two NBA seasons Johnson shot just 30.1 percent from beyond the arc, so while it’s a small sample, it’s something to be aware of.
As for Ellenson, after being little more than an afterthought last season, he averaged almost 20 minutes per game in his five preseason appearances. He shot 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from long range, and he had a true shooting percentage of 59.6 percent. He averaged 10 points and three rebounds per game.
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Johnson is projected to start for the Detroit Pistons when the season begins, and Ellenson is projected to be a bigger part of the rotation this season.