Detroit Pistons’ draft-and-stash has explosive debut
The Detroit Pistons will be trying to develop the players on their active roster and G-League but they will also have one eye on the EuroLeague this season.
That’s because second-round prospect Gabriele Procida was signed by German team ALBA Berlin, hoping to turn at successful EuroLeague season into an eventual shot at the NBA. The Pistons still hold his draft rights, so he’s a guy we could see in the Motor City in the next year or two.
European basketball has come a long way from the days when people thought Euro players were “soft” as the last four MVP’s have been won by foreign-born players and the competition just keeps getting better every season on the world stage.
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Procida is a big guard/wing who can shoot the 3-ball, so he has a chance to eventually crack the roster of a team that lacks scoring and shooting.
Procida is just 20-years-old and needs some refinement before he’ll be ready for the NBA, but he is already showing signs of that and could eventually pay dividends for the Detroit Pistons in the future.
Detroit Pistons: Gabriele Procida stats
Procida did not start in the opener for ALBA Berlin and played sparingly in the first three games, but has worked his way up to just under 13 minutes in the most recent win.
Don’t worry too much about Procida not starting right away, as ALBA Berlin are one of the top clubs in Germany and had five players representing the country in the recent EuroBasket tournament.
That will change if he continues to score like he did yesterday, as he racked up 12 points in just 13 minutes, grabbed three rebounds and added an assist.
Here are Gabriele Procida’s highlights from ALBA Berlin’s first EuroLeague win of the season:
Procida hit 5-of-7 shots, including a couple of 3-pointers, flashing impressive range, but he also showed that he has surprising athleticism, going up for a putback dunk and catching an alley-oop.
He’s not going to be on the bench long and has a chance to be one of the rising stars of the EuroLeague this season, which bodes well for his future with the Detroit Pistons.
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