Pistons to sign John Lucas III to 10-day contract, according to reports

The Detroit Pistons will offer NBA veteran John Lucas III a 10-day contract to help fill the void left by Brandon Jennings' injury, according to ESPN's Marc Stein. Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News has confirmed the report. The Pistons, who had previously been linked to New York's Pablo Prigioni and Minnesota's Mo Williams, had recently discussed a trade proposal with the Miami Heat that would have sent swingman Jonas Jerebko to the Heat for defensive-specialist Norris Cole, but the deal fell through when Pat Riley tried to include Danny Granger.

Lucas last played in the Association with Utah during the 2013-2014 season, where he appeared in 42 games, averaging 3.8 points and 1.0 assists in 14.1 minutes per game. The six-year pro last played in China with Fujian Quanzhou Bank with former NBAer DJ White, in 28 games, Lucas averaged 26.3 points and 7.0 assists, whilst shooting .518/.390/.895.

John's signing could indicate that Stan Van Gundy is struggling to find the right trade, as he had earlier mentioned to MLive's David Mayo that he wouldn't want to sign anyone only to "cut him three days into a 10-day contract". This would corroborate earlier reports that the Pistons were struggling to find a trade partner who wasn't playing hardball.

There is no indication at this point whether Lucas is a stopgap until an upcoming trade, or the long-term solution for Detroit's issues with point guard depth, but his signing would give Van Gundy and the Pistons the ability to audition someone with NBA experience through the trade deadline. From Pistons.com's Keith Langlois:

"(Two 10-day contracts) will take us to the trade deadline, which I think is an advantage," Van Gundy said. "We could do two 10 days, the trade deadline and then if nothing materializes, we've got a guy who's been with us for three weeks, and if it does, then we make a move. That's part of the timing issue of it, too."

SVG had previously pointed to Monday for a move to be made, with the Pistons going up against the Miami Heat on Tuesday, it would make sense for Lucas to join the team prior to that game and taking ownership of Detroit's back-up PG position behind DJ Augustin.

What do you think about the potential signing?