OAKLAND – The Pistons saw enough from Quincy Miller over the course of the past three weeks to come to an easy decision: They're committing to him for not just the rest of this season but through the summer and 2015-16's training camp.
They came to that conclusion despite the fact Miller has yet to appear in a game for them and his two-game stint in the D-League was cut short by an ankle injury in the first half of game two.
"We've seen a couple of practices and we know what we had before," Stan Van Gundy said of Miller, 22, who averaged 25 points in 15 D-League games with Reno this season. "He's a guy with size and length and athletic ability and can shoot the ball. He's somebody that we want to see."
"It's definitely a blessing. This year has been a tough year for me," said Miller, who had an earlier trial with Utah on two 10-day contracts this season before the Jazz opted to let Miller return to the D-League. "But I'm definitely appreciative for it to coach Van Gundy."
Miller has long been identified as a high-ceiling player, arriving at Baylor as the No. 7 recruit according to Rivals in the high school class of 2011. But he also got to Waco with a knee at less than full strength after suffering a December 2010 ACL tear, aborting his high school senior season. Miller was fourth in scoring as a freshman on a team that included future NBA players Perry Jones and Quincy Acy as well as others who've gotten NBA looks (Pierre Jackson, Brady Heslip, Cory Jefferson), averaging 10.6 points and 4.9 rebounds while shooting .475 overall and .348 from the 3-point line.
The Pistons are risking very little on the prospect of Miller, who was taken 38th by Denver after his only season at Baylor, flowering into the player who landed on the radar of college coaches and NBA scouts before he was old enough to drive.
"It's not a huge investment for us," Van Gundy said. "We're getting it set up so we have him through the summer and through training camp next year, so we get a good, long look at him. He's a guy that's got great potential to develop. He's a really, really hard worker, so we'll see where it goes."
The accumulation of rangy forwards comfortable at the 3-point line the Pistons have acquired in just the last three months – Anthony Tolliver, Shawne Williams and Miller – are indicative of the value Van Gundy places on having shooting around Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe.
While Van Gundy has continually maintained that retaining Monroe in free agency is a priority, with Monroe also serving as Andre Drummond's backup the Pistons still play about two-thirds of games with one or the other on the bench. That style appealed to Miller and made him most receptive to the Pistons' interest in him over other feelers in mid-February.
"It's a lot of moving and a lot of chances for the four to do whatever – you can make a lot of plays," said Miller, who was viewed as a small forward/power forward hybrid coming out of Baylor. Van Gundy needs to see more of his ball skills to determine whether Miller has an NBA future at small forward, but his skill set appeals to him regardless. Whether there will be room for all three of Tolliver, Williams and Miller on the 15-man roster for 2015-16 remains to be seen.
"We'll see," Van Gundy said. "If you look at all of those guys, we've got basically what amounts to team options on all of them. One of the things we've talked about is trying to accumulate assets and trying to have flexibility and I think those three guys give us both."
The Pistons hold options on Tolliver (a reported $3 million) and Williams (veteran's minimum) for next season. Van Gundy said Miller's contract would contain some guaranteed money for next season. That means the Pistons aren't obligated to a roster spot for Miller but hold his rights until they dictate otherwise when rosters need to be set before the 2015-16 regular season starts.
With the Pistons enduring mighty shooting woes lately, Miller smiles when asked if it's occurred to him that he might be part of the solution.
"Everybody who can score thinks that," he said, "but at the same time, I'm just really here showing different things. I really want to show how good of a defender I am. Offense will come. I'm not really worried about that. It's about defense for me – it's always about defense."
Now certain that he'll be with the Pistons throughout the summer, working with the training staff, Miller will have one overriding focus.
"Just to be stronger," said Miller, listed at 6-foot-9 and 210 pounds. "It's not really about getting bigger, because you don't have to be big to be strong. It's basically about getting stronger and working on my body this summer."