Stanley Johnson assigned to D-League

Per the Free Press' Vincent Ellis, the Pistons' Stanley Johnson will be playing for the Grand Rapids Drive Saturday night against the Delaware 87ers, along with Henry Ellenson and Michael Gbinije.

After discussing it with SVG last night, Stanley Johnson will play for Grand Rapids D-League team tonight. #Pistons

— NerdOnTw1tter (@Vincent_Ellis56) December 10, 2016

It is likely just a one-game assignment, as the Pistons play the Sixers on Sunday.

This is not a massive surprise for anyone closely following the Pistons, as Johnson has been largely out of the Pistons' rotation as of late, playing only 28 combined minutes in their last nine games. A game in the D-League gives him a chance to play some heavy minutes. If you were already panicked about Johnson's performance, this won't give you any reason to stop, but playing in Grand Rapids on an off day when you haven't been playing for Detroit isn't a reason for concern in and of itself.

Still, nobody would've expected any D-League assignments for Stanley at the start of the season, and this represents the next chapter in a strange, disappointing season thus far for the Arizona product.

We will have a recap coming after the game of how Johnson, Ellenson and Gbinije perform.