The Detroit Pistons currently have just one spot available on their training camp roster. Who will be the one to receive the invitation? There are some obvious, and not so obvious, candidates.
The Detroit Pistons right now have room to add players, and yet have too many.
During the season, an NBA team can only have 15 players on its roster. The Pistons, according to Spotrac.com, have 16 players with guaranteed contracts for this upcoming season. So, someone has to go, by either trade or release. The Pistons can not show up on Opening Night against the Chicago Bulls with 16 players on the team.
However, this a problem that has time to be dealt with. Under NBA rules, a team’s roster is expanded to 20 players in the off-season. They don’t actually have to declare their regular season roster until right before their first game.
As of now, Detroit has 19 of those 20 roster spots filled. There are the 16 guaranteed, and two on two-way contracts, Luka Garza and Chris Smith, plus Jamorko Pickett is signed to an Exhibit 10 deal.
The two-ways and Exhibit 10 contracts are mostly constructed for playing in the G-League, but they still count on the training camp roster. Things do change once all the players are together for camp.
Remember, three years ago it appeared veteran Joe Johnson had locked up the Pistons final roster spot. However, he suffered a late injury and Christian Wood instead made the team. Wood turned into a 20-and-10 guy for Detroit, and now Houston.
So, do not assume the last roster spot for training camp is a throwaway destined to be cut or put on the Motor City Cruise. General manager Troy Weaver could also look to add another veteran.
Wayne Ellington was signed just two days before the start of training camp last season. He ended up being the Pistons best outside shooter and started a lot of games.
All the veterans listed are unrestricted free agents.
Here are 5 candidates to fill the Detroit Pistons one remaining roster spot:
5. Harry Giles
Do you still believe?
Harry Giles III came out of Duke and was the 20th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, and appeared ready to be yet another of Coach K’s many success stories. But it has not worked out that way.
He is 6-foot-11, 240-pounds and athletic, but his first three seasons in the NBA have not gone too well. In 142 games, he’s only has started 17.
Giles signed as a free agent with Portland last season. He was pulled from the rotation in March and finished with a career-low 2.8 points per game average. In his first two seasons with the Kings he did score seven points a game.
This summer he played in The League in his native North Carolina, They were happy to have an NBA player there.
Giles can play power forward as well as center. He did shoot 34.8% on three-pointers last year, albeit on very low volume.
With the trade of Mason Plumlee, the center position is a bit unsettled for Detroit.
Giles is only 23-years-old, so he still has time to develop. It would not be a bad move to sign the former Blue Devil to a training camp deal, see what he has. The Pistons have done quite well with reclamation projects lately.