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The Detroit Pistons have FINALLY made a transaction.
It’s just not the the kind y’all have been clamoring for:
Sources @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium: Guard Isaiah Whitehead has agreed to a two-way NBA contract with the Detroit Pistons. Whitehead was Brooklyn’s second-round pick in 2016 and had played overseas this season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 15, 2019
The Seton Hall product was a second-round pick of the Utah Jazz in 2016 and spent time with the Brooklyn Nets over the past two seasons, averaging 7.2 points per game. He played 8 games with Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia this season.
Whitehead is a scorer, for sure.
I just wouldn’t expect much from Whitehead outside of getting buckets with the Grand Rapids Drive. He averaged 22.3 points per game with the Long Island Nets last season, including a 52-point game.
He was the second-best scorer I saw when I was covering the G-League last season. He makes scoring look easy ... but it’s also pretty easy to score points in that league, so, take that with a grain of salt.
Whitehead is a career 30 percent shooter from 3-point range in the NBA, but shot better in extended time with Long Island — hitting 35 percent on almost six attempts per game.
He could certainly help the Pistons as a bucket-getter off the bench and could have a Dwight Buycks-like impact. I’d still bet he helps the Drive more than Detroit this season.
Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press is reporting that it’s Keenan Evans that is being removed from his 2-way deal. That’s not a surprise considering the undrafted rookie from Texas Tech never got a look with Detroit during a rudderless month of Jose Calderon operating as the backup point guard.