Pistons news: Detroit takes flyer on poor man’s Draymond Green

The Detroit Pistons were able to land two first-round picks in the 2023 NBA Draft, but weren’t finished there.

According to Mike Scotto of HoopsHype, the Pistons also signed Princeton forward Tosan Evbuomwan as an undrafted free agent:

It was confirmed by Princeton that it was an Exhibit 10 deal that could be turned into a two-way contract before the season starts if things go well for Evbuomwan.

Evbuomwan was a guy the Pistons had in for a workout during the draft process, where he was reportedly very impressive in scrimmages. I wrote a draft profile on Evbuomwan here and predicted he was a guy Detroit might end up signing to a two-way deal.

But what does he bring to the table? A little of everything.

Detroit Pistons news: Tosan Evbuomwan’s strengths and weaknesses

Evbuomwan is a 6-foot-7 all-purpose forward who really came into his own this season for Princeton, leading them to a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament after beating heavily favored Arizona and Missouri.

He’s not an elite scorer, but a guy who will get a lot of garbage points around the rim, in transition and through hustle plays. He’s been talked about as a poor man’s Draymond Green, as he can defend all over and is a very good playmaker who averaged five assists per game over his last two years of college ball.

Like Green, Evbuomwan can make plays out of the low or high post and has incredible court vision, which was on full display in the NCAA Tournament, where he racked up 19 assists in three games, including nine in the Sweet 16 loss to Creighton, where he had 24 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

He doesn’t shoot many 3-point shots and only hit 32 percent of the ones he did take, but this is a guy who didn’t even start playing basketball until high school and may have much more to offer as he continues to add nuance to his game.

His stats aren’t going to blow you away, but he does a little of everything and can be that glue guy off the bench who comes in and defends and makes plays all over the floor. He’s the type of player fans love, as he hustles at all times and makes winning plays.

There is a good chance he ends up playing his way into a two-way contract, which would be great, as the this is one area the Pistons really failed in last season when it comes to player development, as they got absolutely nothing from their two-ways and ended up wasting one of them on a Troy Weaver favor to Jim Boeheim.