Pistons convert Zach Lofton to a Two-Way contract, release Reggie Hearn

As the deadline approaches to get rosters down to the regular season maximum of 15 players, the Pistons have made a move that a lot of people were expecting based on the preseason. Detroit has converted guard Zach Lofton to a two-way contract and released Reggie Hearn, according to James Edwards III of the Athletic.

Zach Lofton received a lot more playing time during the preseason than Reggie Hearn, so this isn’t much of a surprise. Lofton also put together a very solid preseason with the minutes he received. He played in four games and averaged 5.5 points per game in nine minutes per game on 47.5 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc.

He also did this:

The Pistons keeping Hearn on a two-way contract was always a weird decision to me. He didn’t show that much promise last season or during summer league and is already 27 years old, so there isn’t that much room for improvement. The fact that he is also a holdover two-way contract from Stan Van Gundy meant there was very little chance he would stick around.

Stories like Lofton’s are the reason why the preseason exists. He bounced around in college, playing at five different colleges in total when it was all said and done. He entered the league as a 25-year old rookie, so all odds were against him. The fact that he was able to impress the team this much with his preseason performance is what makes the preseason more than just pointless games to the fringe roster guys.

The Pistons now have their roster down to the regular season maximum of 15 players plus the two-way contracts of Lofton and Keenan Evans.