Detroit Pistons player development grades for the season: The Rookies

The Rest of the 2022-2023 Detroit Pistons Rookie Class

Gabriele Procida

Gabriele Procida is stashed over in Europe, playing in the EuroLeague, and has not stepped foot on an NBA court this season. As we have covered before, he has shown a few flashes while playing in Italy and now for ALBA Berlin.  In 27 games this season, across an average of about 15 minutes, he is shooting just shy of 40 percent from the field on his five field goal attempts per game. A little over half of these attempts are threes, of which he is knocking them down at a 24 percent clip. There has been a steep drop-off in his efficiency since joining the EuroLeague. In his previous season with Fortitudo Bologna in the LBA, Gabriele Procida put up a stat line of 7 points, on an efficient 52 percent from the field on a little over four attempts per game. He also put up a decent 38 percent from deep on about two attempts per contest. This season with Berlin, Procida’s three-point percentage has taken a nosedive to 24 percent on around three attempts per game. His steals, blocks and assists have all gone down as well.   Also of note, Procida’s turnovers have also increased since making the transition to EuroLeague.

As things stand right now, nothing really jumps off of page here as an NBA ready player. While his numbers looked much better playing in Italy, the difference in competition appears to have affected his stat line. At this point, Gabriele Procida does not look like he will be heading this way anytime soon. He will be 21 years old in a few days, so he still has time to adjust to the competition in EuroLeague and develop more of his game. For a player that looked like he could develop into an NBA player prior to the EuroLeague season, that no longer appears to be the case.

Season Grade: D

Gabriele Procida’s game isn’t translating to EuroLeague and there are questions to whether making the jump to the NBA is doable for him at this point. He is still young enough to turn it around however, and we have seen European prospects spend a few additional years overseas to work on holes in their game. If Gabriele Procida continues to improve, there is always a chance that he can make that next jump down the road.  

In Review

The rookie class this season for the Detroit Pistons was a mixed bag with two solid lottery picks and some questionable two-way players. Overall the Rookies bring some hope to the future of Detroit basketball though as the most prominent rookies showed up to play. With Troy Weaver sure to make some moves in the off-season, the new coach, (whoever that may be) and the return of budding star Cade Cunningham, perhaps the Detroit Pistons really can turn a corner on this rebuild. Let’s all hope for a (very) productive off-season.

Stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 of this series where we will look at the rest of the new faces on the Detroit Pistons this past season, as well as the those who returned to the roster from the previous year. 

Do you agree/disagree with the evaluations? Is there anything you would like to add? How would you rate the Detroit Pistons rookie class this season? Let us know in the comments section below!