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Thomas feels he’s off to good start in bid to stick among Pistons roster crunch

After the first three practices of training camp, Adonis Thomas feels pretty good about his shot at cracking the Pistons roster. Too early? Maybe. But not by much.

This week well could be the critical stretch for the four or five contenders at the wing positions fighting to make the team. The Pistons have more guaranteed contracts than the maximum 15 roster spots. And once preseason games start next Tuesday, Thomas knows chances to impress will dwindle.

“That’s what coach even mentioned in our first meeting (Tuesday),” Thomas said after Wednesday’s morning practice, the third of training camp. “Take training camp as an opportunity for you to show, because once exhibition games start he’s going to be looking for his rotational guys. I understood that. That’s how it’s supposed to go.”

It might be a little different if Van Gundy didn’t have decisions to make at the top of the roster as well as the bottom of it. He likely has five new members to fit into the rotation – Marcus Morris, Stanley Johnson, Ersan Ilyasova, Aron Baynes and Steve Blake – and those players need as much time playing together in various combinations with the holdover regulars as possible.

Morris and Johnson are going to grab almost all of the minutes at small forward, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jodie Meeks will do the same at shooting guard.

That means for Thomas, second-round pick Darrun Hilliard, Reggie Bullock and Cartier Martin – veteran Danny Granger, too, if he recovers from planter fasciitis in time to join training camp – practice time is precious. Van Gundy said a number of things will go into making his decision for him – not just who’s the best all-around player of the bunch or which one has a skill or two which best complements the group.

“It’ll be both of those things and probably who we think has the best long-term potential, too,” he said. “Sometimes you’re not looking for the guy, necessarily, that’s going to help you the most right now. So we’ll see. It’ll come down to a lot of factors.”

As one of the younger guys on the spectrum – Thomas, like Hilliard, is just 22 – that the Pistons are looking at potential as well as production bodes well for him.

Thomas admits that for as much as he tries to focus on doing what he’s supposed to do and does best, he’s at least conscious of the impression he might be creating of himself at every second of practice.

“Sometimes I think about it like, man, if I miss that shot or if I miss that assignment on defense, but at the end of the day everybody’s going to do that,” he said. “We’re all learning. There’s a lot of new guys, so coach has been kind of patient with us. But at the same time, he wants us to grasp things pretty fast because next week starts preseason. I just want to come out here every day and compete.”

The additional stress Thomas feels due to the roster crunch is mitigated by the comfort he feels in working with the coaches and within Van Gundy’s system. He’s been headquartered in Auburn Hills since May when the front office let him know his good work for the D-League affiliate in Grand Rapids last season had earned him a shot and a partially guaranteed contract that took him through Summer League and training camp.

“Those guys have seen me all summer,” he said. “Through Summer League and coming out here competing with these guys in September and now in training camp, starting off, I’m doing a great job. I’m satisfied with myself right now. If this was the last day, I’d say that I would make the team as of how I’m playing. But I want to keep it up. We’ve still got a couple of more days before regular practice hits and then he’ll be more attentive to guys that are going to be in the rotation rather than the guys who are trying to compete for roster spots. It’s on me to get through this week.”

Thomas has attacked his best chance to stick in the NBA – he had two 10-day deals with Orlando and Philadelphia in 2013-14 and went to camp with the Pacers last season – with all-encompassing vigor. Even if he doesn’t get into preseason games, he’ll be paying maximum attention from the sideline.

“If I get the opportunity to play in exhibitions or not, I just want to continue to be there and be a great teammate,” he said. “That’s the most I can do. They’re evaluating everything you do, so being a great teammate is for sure one of the evaluations.”