Detroit Pistons: Three players to watch in the 2018 summer league

The Detroit Pistons will have plenty of players looking to prove their worth in this year’s summer league. Who should you keep an eye on?

The Detroit Pistons will be headed to Las Vegas for the 2018 summer league. This is always a great opportunity for players to get recognized coming out of college.

It’s also a chance for seasoned players to show if they have enough to make an NBA roster still.

Here’s a look at who will be on Detroit’s summer league roster.

One player from that list that won’t be attending is Luke Kennard. He suffered a knee injury and won’t be healthy in time to play.

He was set to play point guard for Detroit in summer league action.

There are still a number of players to look forward to this coming weekend when the action begins.

1. Khyri Thomas

Thomas was obviously going to make this list. The Detroit Pistons traded up in this year’s draft to get the guard from Creighton University. All eyes will be on him.

Thomas was projected to be a first-round pick in some mock drafts. This is because of his ability on the defensive end of the floor.

What you should keep an eye on throughout the summer league and into the regular season is what he develops into offensively. Expect Thomas to get a lot of minutes over the weekend.

2. Henry Ellenson

Ellenson is going into his third season with the Detroit Pistons organization. The fact that he’s apart of another summer league roster says something.

This is his ‘prove it’ moment. Over the course of the last two seasons, Ellenson has received little playing time in Detroit. He’s spent some time with the G-League affiliate in Grand Rapids as well.

He’s just not been able to crack the rotation, whether it be his lack of defensive awareness or inconsistency at scoring on the offensive end.

He showed glimpses last summer of what he could be for the Detroit Pistons going forward. Whether it was stretching the floor with an outside jumper or attacking the basket, he did it all.

This could be it for Ellenson. The former first-round selection will have to impress the new regime in the front office for the Detroit Pistons.

3. Max Hooper

Who doesn’t like a story about a local kid? Hooper spent some of his college days about 45 minutes from downtown Detroit at Oakland University.

There are some interesting aspects to his game. He fits Dwane Casey’s approach to wanting the team to take more shots from outside.

While at Oakland, he was the Horizon league sixth man of the year. Hooper is also the only player in NCAA history to shoot over 200 3-point attempts without a 2-point attempt in a season.

Hooper is similar to Ellenson in a way. He’s yet to crack an NBA roster and get meaningful minutes. Recently, he spent some time with the New York Knicks G-League affiliate. While he was there, he didn’t get a chance to prove anything.

Keep an eye on him if he gets an opportunity to show off his shooting abilities. It’s truly fun to watch.

Next: Detroit Pistons open Summer League against Milwaukee Bucks