Detroit Pistons sign Louis King to new two-way deal

Louis King has escaped the scythe of Troy Reaper after re-signing with the Detroit Pistons on a new two-way contract. The deal was first reported by Keith Smith. This is the second consecutive two-way contract for King, who went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft. King is one of just five players returning to the Pistons next season.

The two-way deal allows him to get additional development time with Detroit’s G League affiliate the Grand Rapids Drive. In 31 games with the Drive last season, King averaged 15 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3 assists in 28.5 minutes per game. He played just 62 minutes with the Pistons over 10 games averaging 2 points and a rebound.

King is a 6-foot-7 forward out of Oregon with plenty of tools but need to refine his shooting stroke. How did King survive the roster purge? I’d say he got the DBB bump as the only member of the Pistons last season to be a guest on the Detroit Bad Boys podcast. Might be a good time to call your booking agents, Pistons rookies.

King joins rookie second-round pick Saben Lee as Detroit’s two designated two-way players. The team has also signed undrafted rookie Anthony Lamb and LiAngelo Ball to Exhibit 10 contracts.

Everyone will join the Pistons for an abbreviated training camp and preseason schedule, and Lee and King will certainly be slated to join the Drive. Because of their Exhibit 10 status, there is a good chance Lamb and Ball will join them as preferred players, but this will be a tryout with more on the line for them in the preseason.

The move to re-sign King to a new deal likely means Jaylen Hands, a point guard acquired in the Luke Kennard trade, who spent all of last season in the G League, will not stick with the Pistons on anything more than an Exhibit 10 deal.

That means, for all intents and purposes, Detroit’s massive roster overhaul is complete. The Pistons have 16 players currently under contract, two two-way players and two Exhibit 10 players. The roster limit for the Pistons is 15 players so it is likely veteran Rodney McGruder, also acquired in the Kennard deal, gets waived unless Trader Troy has another move up his sleeve between now and the regular season.

Detroit Pistons Roster (probable starters in bold)

Guards

Killian Hayes (rookie), Derrick Rose, Delon Wright, Svi Mykhailiuk, Rodney McGruder, Wayne Ellington, Josh Jackson, Saben Lee (two-way), LiAngelo Ball (Exhibit 10)

Forwards

Blake Griffin, Jerami Grant, Sekou Doumbouya, Saddiq Bey (rookie), Deividas Sirvydis (rookie), Dzanan Musa, Louis King (two-way), Anthony Lamb (rookie, Exhibit 10)

Centers

Mason Plumlee, Jahlil Okafor, Isaiah Stewart (rookie)