Keith Langlois revealed a few interesting names that will be playing for the Pistons on the summer league:
Dee Brown, the former Illinois All-American who played with Utah as a rookie two years ago, will be on the Pistons’ roster. Sammy Mejia, last year’s second-round pick, was going to be but he sprained an ankle recently and won’t make it. Alex Acker will also be on the team and has a shot at sticking with the Pistons next year.
Because the Pistons will have three draft choices on the team – as well as Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo, Cheikh Samb and Amir Johnson – they won’t be filling it up with a bunch of other notable players. That’s an unusual number of players for a Summer League team who have already cinched roster spots or have realistic NBA futures.
In case you missed it, here’s the schedule:
July 11 - Detroit vs. L.A. Lakers, 5:00 p.m. PST on NBA TV
July 13 - Detroit vs. L.A. Clippers, 7:00 p.m. PST
July 15 - Detroit vs. Milwaukee, 3:00 p.m. PST
July 17 - Detroit vs. Dallas, 1:00 p.m. PST on NBA TV
July 18 - Detroit vs. Charlotte, 3:00 p.m. PST
Unless noted, the games won’t be televised. Once upon a time it was possible to purchase some kind of video package to watch games (or at least highlights) online — no word yet if that will be an option again this year. I hope so, because that’s a stacked roster, at least as far as summer league rosters go.
With his dental and passport issues fixed, Cheikh Samb is returning to Ft. Wayne …
Cheikh Samb, the 7-foot-1 center who was sent from the Detroit Pistons and played two games in Fort Wayne in mid-December before being sidelined with a broken jaw, is returning to the team.
“We should have Cheikh Samb coming in (Monday),” Ants president and general manager Jeff Potter said. “I just talked to him and he’s in his car and should be here.”
Samb played in back-to-back games Dec. 13 and 14 against Dakota, averaging 13.5 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
… just as Sammy Mejia is leaving to accept an offer to play in Italy:
“Fort Wayne wasn’t the problem,” said Mejia, who missed the first 10 games of the NBA D-League season with a leg injury. “It’s hard to be in one spot, and everybody’s goal is not to be there. It’s a different kind of comfort being over there. Nobody who is part of the Mad Ants wants to be in the Mad Ant uniform. I got comfortable in a different kind of way.”
Even though Mejia happened to be playing for the Pistons’ D-League affiliate, the Pistons relinquished their draft rights to him when they released him in favor of Ronald Dupree at the end of the preseason. But still, he seemed like a nice kid and I’m happy that he’s found some place a little more comfortable to play. He was obviously Ft. Wayne’s best player, leading the team with 19.5 points and 8.4 boards a game.
The Mad Ants next play on Friday and Saturday, and if you really want to see Samb in action, don’t forget that all D-League games are now streamed online for free.
Minor news, but interesting to me: Jeremy Richardson, the leading scorer for the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants (Pistons D-League affiliate), was recalled by the Memphis Grizzlies, who face the Pistons on Friday. Richardson had been averaging 28.5 points per game. Continue reading ‘Mad Ants happenings’
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