Pistons sign ‘microwave’ scorer in Carsen Edwards

The Detroit Pistons signed former Purdue standout Carsen Edwards to a two-year deal. Edwards plays in the style of former Piston scorer Vinnie Johnson, but he has not lived up to his collegiate billing so far.

The Pistons have had great success in the past with undersized guards, like Joe Dumars,  Isiah Thomas and ‘Microwave’ Johnson, and they are taking a flyer on another one.

Detroit is inking 5-foot-11 Carsen Edwards to a two-year deal, first reported by Shams Charania.

And it looks like Edwards will be put into action immediately:

Edwards actually had 13 points and nine assists to help Detroit beat Indiana, even though he had stepped off a plane to join the team just two hours before the game.

As fans of the Big Ten know, Edwards was a big-time scorer at Purdue, despite his size. He could do things like this:

https://twitter.com/PurdueOnBTN/status/1502643002262622212

He also was a knock-down three-point shooter with the Boilermakers, hitting 36-percent of his three-point attempts over three seasons.

Despite his smallish size, Edwards was highly thought of coming out of college. Plenty of Pistons fans at the time would have loved Detroit to snap him up. However, the Boston Celtics traded the rights for Matisse Thybulle to the 76ers, and picked up from them the 32nd pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, where they selected Edwards.

He had some nice summer league games for the Celtics, but things never worked out when the regular season started. His role was suppose to be a Johnson-type (I DID NOT say he was like Johnson, just playing a similar role) and become a ‘microwave’ scorer, who provided points off the bench.

The only problem was, Edwards did not score a lot of points with Boston. In 68 games, he shot just 37-percent from the field, 30-percent from ‘3’. With his size making him a defensive liability, and his inability to score, Boston gave up on Edwards and traded him to Memphis last September. The Grizzlies cut him eight days later.

One theory on Edwards’ lack of NBA success is that he’s the kind of player who needs a lot of minutes to get himself warmed up and into the game. The short bursts of playing time he received in Boston were not enough time to get him going.

That theory might be correct. After leaving Memphis, Edwards joined the Salt Lake City team in the G-League. Playing 36 minutes on average, in 31 games, Edwards was averaging 26.7 points, 4.1 assists and 2.7 rebounds. He also hit a more-than-respectable 38.2-percent from three-point land.

Detroit general manager Troy Weaver likes reclamation projects, as he has brought in a bunch of former highly thought of players, who had not made their mark in the NBA yet. Edwards is the latest.

2 reasons signing Carsen Edwards is a good idea for Detroit Pistons

         2. Did you see him at Purdue!: Michigan and Michigan State fans know all too well how Edwards can get hot and light up the scoreboard, no matter how good a defense you play on him. It looks like he has regained his scoring touch, and if Edwards is on, watch out.

1. Why not? Have you looked at the Pistons record? They need talent and especially scoring. Edwards probably will not cost a lot and, if he turns into the player he was supposed to be out of college, Detroit picked up a nice player for a low price.

2 reasons the Pistons should not have signed Carsen Edwards

       2. He is a bust: If the Celtics and the Grizzlies let him loose, why would he suddenly blossom now? Yeah, he is scoring buckets in the G-League, so what? Saben Lee scores 40 points all the time for the Motor City Cruise, and still never plays for the Pistons unless there is an injury.

1. We already have his type: You want short guards who can shoot? Detroit has a couple already in Frank Jackson and Cory Joseph. Both are under contract for next season, so what is the point of adding Edwards?

Edwards will be undergoing a quick ‘trial by fire’ . One of the more interesting storylines for the rest of the season (all seven days of it), will be how he looks. Will he be more like the Purdue version, or the Celtics.