One of the biggest criticisms of the Detroit Pistons over recent years was that they weren’t able to find or develop any hidden gems.
It's a topic I touched on many times.
For all of the talk about Troy Weaver being a great talent evaluator, he was never able to nail a second-round pick or find an undrafted player that could stick.
The Pistons never had a two-way player that made an impact, which was unfortunate, as they had more developmental minutes available than just about any other team considering their poor record and injury problems over the last five seasons.
Fans hoped that all changed when Trajan Langdon came aboard, as he does have a history of finding guys like Herb Jones, Naji Marshall and Jose Alvarado outside of the first round, players that have become important role players in the league.
Langdon’s first swing in the second round was for Bobi Klintman, a raw but talented player that some had mocked higher in the draft.
There was even some talk about him making the rotation this season, as the Pistons aren’t exactly deep at power forward and Klintman showed some early promise as a floor spreader.
But an early injury stalled his season and so far, Klintman has spent all of his time in the G-League. He may still be the power forward of the future, but that future is not here.
Bobi Klintman’s G-League stats
Fans who were hoping to see Klintman play some kind of role for the Pistons this season are probably going to have to wait, as Klintman hasn’t exactly set the G-League on fire.
In 17 games played he has averaged 10.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists on shooting splits of 37.4 percent from the floor and 26.4 percent from 3-point range on over five attempts per game.
He’s averaged over 31 mintues per game, so he is getting his chances, but thus far has struggled to find his shot, which was one of his most exciting attributes as a 6-foot-9 forward.
His 3.5 assists per game are encouraging, as Kintman was projected to be a guy who can make plays from the wing, but they have been somewhat offset by his 2.6 turnovers per game.
It’s difficult to gauge players by G-League stats, especially when Klintman will eventually be playing a much smaller and more defined role if he does make it to the NBA.
The good news is that the Pistons are good enough this season that it doesn’t matter, they don’t have to rush Klintman into action and can let him develop in the G-League until he is ready.
I also have more faith that this regime will put some effort into that development, so am still excited about Klintman’s potential and future.
With Tobias Harris under contract for another season and the Pistons playing well, Klintman has all but been forgotten. He does have talent that we’ll hopefully see, but not before he’s ready.