The Detroit Pistons agreed to a multiyear deal with a free agent from the Sacramento Kings! Nope, not Isaiah Thomas, but rather center Aaron Gray. Yes, he's still in the league. He split last season between the Raptors and Kings, appearing in 37 games and playing a grand total of 355 minutes. Here's proof.
Yahoo's Marc Spears was technically the first to report the deal, edging everyone's favorite Vinces by a single minute. (C'mon guys! Type faster next time.)
Center Aaron Gray agrees to multiyear deal with the Pistons, source says.
— Vincent Ellis (@Vincent_Ellis56) July 7, 2014
Source: center Aaron Gray agrees to a multi year deal with the Pistons
— Vincent Goodwill (@vgoodwill) July 7, 2014
How does Gray fit Detroit's roster? It seems safe to speculate that he'll likely take Josh Harrellson's roster spot. Harrellson signed a two-year deal last August, but the second year was a team option. In his lone season in Detroit, Harrellson rarely saw the court, playing even fewer minutes (317 to be exact) than Gray last year.
I actually thought Harrellson had a decent chance to stick around. Despite his lack of action last year, he's a talented 3-point shooter -- a skill that Stan Van Gundy clearly covets. Gray, meanwhile, is a traditional lumbering big man who rarely strays from the paint: according to basketball-reference.com, 58.9 percent of his career field-goal attempts have come from within three feet of the basket, and a whooping 88.8 percent have come from within 10.
One skill that Gray does have is the ability to grab the ball: he's averaged 11.1 rebounds per 36 minutes over his career. Which, OK. That's good but not exciting. It's impossible to grade this acquisition without knowing salary, but I suspect it's for the veteran's minimum, or damn close.
And I sure as heck hope the "multiyear" aspect was a team option, much like it was for Jorts last year. Gray, who turns 30 in December, hasn't really improved since arriving in the NBA as the 49th overall pick in 2007. He's bounced between Chicago, New Orleans, Toronto and Sacramento, averaging more than 13 minutes a game only once in his career. He is what he is, and that's a 7-footer who takes up space (but sadly doesn't actually offer much rim protection).
Now your thoughts. Do you like the move?