Pistons reach agreement with undrafted forward Anthony Lamb

The Detroit Pistons have signed undrafted Vermont forward Anthony Lamb to a deal, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. The deal is reportedly an Exhibit-10 contract.

The Pistons have announced one two-way player in second-round pick Saben Lee. There has been no official announcement on last year’s two-way player Louis King, though it is known that Detroit did not offer its other two-way player Jordan Bone an additional contract.

An Exhibit-10 contract allows the Pistons to offer Lamb a small signing bonus to attend training camp with the team and provide the option of designating him an affiliate player with its G League team the Grand Rapids Drive.

Lamb is the two-time AEC player of the year where he averaged 16.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.2 stocks (steals + blocks). He was an elite, physical presence who could dominate the competition. During his junior year, he shot 57.7% from two-point range and 36.5% from 3 on his way to an eye-popping 56.8 eFG%.

He entertained the thought of entering the NBA Draft last year but feedback he received indicated he’d need to work on his catch-and-shoot game if he hoped to catch on with an NBA team.

His 3-point attempt rate went up from 29% of his attempts to 41% from his junior to senior seasons, but it had a negative impact no his efficiency and overall play. His scoring dipped from more than 20 points per game to 16.7 and he shot just 29.3% on 3-pointers.

He’s a player rated as highly as No. 58 overall on The Athletic’s Big Board of NBA prospects in January before tumbling to No. 85 overall in its final assessment.

With Detroit, he’ll have a chance to show his skills translate to superior competition than those he faced as a star at Vermont. While he was a do-it-all offensive focal point at Vermont, he knows that isn’t how he’d be successful at the next level. In an interview with Hoops Hype, he said he admires and thinks he can do a lot of what PJ Tucker does on the floor:

I’ve heard some comparisons. I’ve watched a lot of film in order to see if those comparisons true. But for PJ Tucker, I know I can do a lot of what he does. People tell me he plays really strong, he makes three-pointers, he spreads the floor with space. He is able to guard one through five. That is something I know I can do. That is why I know that being able to bring that to a team right away would be able to help and create a positive impact on whatever team I go to in the future.

Lamb has also been incredibly open about his struggles with depression and potential bi-polar disorder, and even considered taking his own life two years ago. His story, and incredibly raw, candid assessment of his struggles can be read in a pretty stunning CBS Sports piece and an equally compelling piece at The Athletic about meeting his father for the first time as a freshman in college.