The Detroit Pistons are in the home stretch with nothing to play for but lottery position and trying out players for next season.
Detroit already got a head start on that by trading for James Wiseman, which has been promising in the four games so far, as he has flashed some of the talent that made him the #2 overall pick in the 2020 Draft.
The Pistons recently signed waiver pick up RJ Hampton to a two-year deal, continuing Troy Weaver’s fascination with taking flyers on former first-round picks that haven’t worked out for one reason or another.
Detroit also bought out Nerlens Noel, which leaves one open roster spot that they could fill in a number of ways. While the Pistons are unlikely to find a star, there’s no reason to keep running out guys like Rodney McGruder and Cory Joseph, and they may as well try out some younger players who still have upside.
Here are six players who are worthy of a 10-day contract and a chance to make next year’s team.
Detroit Pistons: Options for the open roster spot
KZ Okpala
Okpala is a 6-foot-8 forward with a ridiculous 7-foot-2 wingspan who has yet to make much of an impact in his four-year career. He is still just 23-years-old and appeared in 35 games this season for Sacramento. He’s not much of a shooter, but has some upside as a defender because of that length. The Detroit Pistons need more long, athletic forwards, so he might be worth a look.
Moses Brown
The 23-year-old Brown played 34 games for the Clippers this season and has also seen time with OKC and Dallas since originally being drafted by Portland. Brown is a guy I’ve written about before, as he is an athletic 7-foot-2 center who can block shots and grab rebounds. He actually had a nice run with OKC, where he averaged 8.6 points and nine boards while blocking over a shot per game. Do the Detroit Pistons need another young center? Probably not, but the way things are going with injuries, he might be worth a look in the final games.