Marvin Bagley III finds new life with the Detroit Pistons
The most pleasant surprise this season was that the Pistons took a low-cost flyer (two vets who were not part of the plans and two second-round picks) on Marvin Bagley III and it appears to have paid off.
Bagley III found new life in Detroit, coming off the bench and providing a scoring weapon and a lob threat for Cade Cunningham and Killian Hayes.
Bagley III averaged 14.6 points and 6.8 rebounds for the Pistons in a career-high 27 minutes per game and did it efficiently, shooting 55 percent from the floor.
He seemed more comfortable and happy with Detroit and is a guy they will hopefully re-sign to a team-friendly deal that also gives him some stability and a chance to improve.
Bagley III is still just 23-years-old and looks like he’ll at least be a valuable bench weapon for the Pistons, a guy who can really grow and become a pick-and-roll weapon with Killian Hayes.
These are the kinds of risks I love the Detroit Pistons to take, as they could end up with an impact player on a value contract that he could easily outplay.
I thought Bagley III was well worth the cost of two second-round picks, but was happily surprised at how productive he was. He still has a lot of work to do on the defensive end and has to get better as a passer, but he has shown exciting offensive potential and it looks like the risk paid off.