Pistons news: Former Detroit project signed by Celtics

The Detroit Pistons have completely transformed their roster since Troy Weaver took over as GM.

He inherited a team with little talent and even less hope, as the veterans were past their prime and their young players had yet to flourish.

What a difference three years make, as there isn’t a single player from that roster who is still on the team. We’ve seen a few guys (Bruce Brown, Christian Wood) go onto thrive with other teams, but for the most part, the rest of the roster scattered and is either out of the league or barely hanging on.

That includes our old friend Svi Mykhailiuk (whose name I don’t miss typing), who is still bouncing around the league trying to become the 3-and-D role player many of us thought he would be for the Detroit Pistons.

Pistons news: Svi Mykhailiuk signs with the Boston Celtics

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Svi Mykhailiuk has signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Pistons’ mortal enemy the Boston Celtics:

Mykhailiuk, who is still somehow only 26 years old, has bounced around the league since being jettisoned from Detroit in the trade that brought Hamidou Diallo.

He’s since played for the Thunder, Raptors, Knicks and Hornets. He had a nice stretch for Charlotte last season, so it was somewhat surprising that they didn’t bring him back, but Mykhailiuk still enjoyed the best season of his career with the Pistons in 2019-20 when he averaged nearly 10 per game and shot over 40 percent from 3-point range.

There were some of us who felt he had a future with the Pistons, who have been looking for 3-point shooting for years. The problem was that Mykhailiuk never provided it consistently and had trouble staying healthy.

But I did always feel that he could be something if he ever landed on the right team, and the Boston Celtics could be it, as he won’t be asked to do anything but come off the bench and knock down 3-point shots and there should be plenty of open ones to be had for him.

If Mykhailiuk can contribute to a Celtics’ title next season, it would make two years in a row that a discarded Pistons’ role player helped bring home a ring after Bruce Brown, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson did it for the Nuggets last season.