In April, we thought the Pistons would be returning to Las Vegas, but that turned out to be a lie and the team will instead be participating in the Orlando Summer League starting next week with the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz.
Here are the players they will be working with [via Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press]:
• F Austin Daye • C Andre Drummond • G Kim English • F/C Yancy Gates • G Armon Johnson • G Brandon Knight • F/C Vernon Macklin • G/F Khris Middleton • G Patrick Richard • F Kyle Singler • G Casper Ware
*Greg Monroe is eligible to participate, but he will not. However, he is practicing with the team in Orlando.
TDP graciously posted the schedule in a FanShot yesterday, but I'll re-post that here, too:
All games televised on NBATV, all times Eastern:
Monday, July 9 - Pistons v. Jazz, 3 PM
Tuesday, July 10 - Pistons v. Magic, 3 PM
Wednesday, July 11 - Pistons v. Thunder, 1 PM
Thursday, July 12 - Pistons v. Celtics, 11 AM
Friday, July 13 - Pistons v. 76ers, 12 PM
After the jump, I'll have a little on each of the players on the roster whom you may know nothing about, which is also to say I also knew nothing and I just did some light research.
Yancy Gates:
A 6-foot-9, 260 lbs. center from Cincinnati was only "a little disappointed" he was not drafted. He was ranked No. 89 in the Top 100 prospects on DraftExpress after averaging 15.5 points on 47-percent shooting, 11.3 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and just under a steal per 40 pace adjusted as a 22-year-old senior.
Armon Johnson:
AJALLDAY1 on Twitter, Armon Johnson is a 6-foot-3 guard who has already bounced around the league a bit after being a 2nd round draft pick (34th overall) by the Blazers in 2010. Here's his B-Ref page.
Patrick Richard:
A 6-foot-4 guard from Joe Dumars' McNeese State, Richard went undrafted, obviously, after averaging nearly 18 points, over six rebounds and three assists in about 37 minutes per game his senior season. He was All-Southland first team and was named to the All-Southland tournament first team.
Casper Ware:
He was ranked No. 56 in DraftExpress' Top 100 prospects, but was not on Kevin's big board. As a senior at Long Beach State, he averaged over 20 points on 40-percent shooting, 1.6 steals and not much of anything else per 40 pace adjusted. When it was announced Ware was going to be on the roster, it was made a big deal for some reason, presumably because of his high-ish rank on DraftExpress and maybe because Ware thinks Detroit provides him with the best opportunity to make an NBA roster.
If you're looking for info on the Pistons' 2012 Draft Picks, make sure to check out the following links:
Andre Drummond | Kim English | Khris Middleton | Draft presser