Report: Henry Ellenson will participate in Summer League

Per the Detroit Free Press’ Vince Ellis:

This is probably for the best for everyone involved: Henry Ellenson gets the chance to display his skills in a controlled coaching environment for Dwane Casey’s coaching staff, and the coaching staff gets a better idea of what kind of role Ellenson will be ready for. Ellenson, of course, was the Pistons’ first-round pick in 2016, a player many had pegged as a lottery pick who slid to the Pistons at No. 18. Ellenson has displayed very little in his two years of NBA action, but he was also given little opportunity to do so during the Stan Van Gundy era.

Ellenson, of course, looked good for last year’s summer league team, averaging about 18 points a game, highlighted by scoring 29 points against the Hornets:

Ellenson even parlayed that strong start into a spot in SVG’s rotation to start the year, only to be quickly supplanted by the steady production of Anthony Tolliver. Of course, Tolliver is now a free agent and the Pistons may not be able to bring him back - meaning there’s could be no safety net if Ellenson can’t produce this time around.

In the best case scenario, Ellenson pulls a Gary Harris. If you recall, Harris dominated the lone summer league game he played in his third year, scoring 22 points and looking, as characterized by then-CBS-Sport’s Zach Harper, “bored.” If Henry looks great shooting the ball and improved defensively, maybe his playing time in Las Vegas will be short.

In the worst case scenario, though, the issues that have plagued Henry throughout his Pistons career - poor positioning and recognition on defense and an inability to score out of actions that aren’t a pick-and-pop - are still there, and the Pistons organization will have some really tough questions to ask about him moving forward.

How do you all think Ellenson will perform - especially on defense - in summer league?