2017 NBA free agency: Pistons sign center Eric Moreland

Shortly after the Pistons Summer League loss in the championship game to the Dallas Mavericks, they announced the signing of the Summer League team’s center Eric Moreland.

The deal is reportedly a multi-year offer, so it’s presumably more than just a training camp appearance. Keith Langlois also makes it sound like Moreland will be pretty much a lock to make the final roster.

Moreland has been on the fringe of the league since going undrafted out of Oregon State. Last year he was a G League All Star, earned a spot on the All-NBA G League Third Team (I know that sounds weird, but I guess that’s what it’s called), and the NBA G League All-Defensive Team.

He was outstanding for the Pistons in the Summer League, posting a line of 26 minutes per game, 7.6 points per game with 70 percent shooting from the field, and 8.4 rebounds. He led the Summer League with 2.8 blocks per game and was definitely a force on that end.

He seems to be the type of player you like to cheer for. Been paying his dues, hustles, defensive oriented. If there’s any cause for concern, it’s that he’s somehow a worse free throw shooter than Andre Drummond. He shot 37 percent over three years in the D-League. Drummond’s 38 percent has him beat.

Stan Van Gundy and Jeff Bower have typically sought solid free throw shooters to back up Drummond, with Aron Baynes and Boban Marjanovic both being 80 percent free throw shooters.

Sure, it’s just the third center job. But Boban will be the primary backup and hasn’t proven that his huge frame is able to take the pounding of the 82 game season. So it’s entirely possible that Moreland could have stretches in the rotation this season.

There’s no word yet about the dollar amount yet. But with the Pistons bumping up on the hard cap, it’ll presumably be the league minimum.