AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The Detroit Pistons announced today that the club has acquired the draft rights to Khyri Thomas, 38th overall, from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for two future second-round picks and selected Bruce Brown Jr. with the 42nd pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Thomas, 6-3, 210 from Creighton University, averaged 15.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals last season as a junior. He shot 54% from the field and 41% from 3-point range last season and scored in double figures while shooting 50% or better from the field in 13 of his last 15 games. Thomas ranked third in the Big East in steals with 1.7 per game and recorded 12 games with three or more steals.
A native of Omaha, NE, Thomas is a two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year joining the likes of Allen Iverson, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo and Patrick Ewing. He won the award outright in 2017-18 and shared it with Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges of Villanova in 2016-17. Thomas played in 33-plus games in each of his three seasons at Creighton and averaged 11.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 51% from the field and 41% from beyond the arc in 102 career collegiate games.
Brown, 6-5, 202, averaged 11.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists last season for the University of Miami (Fla.). A 2017-18 Preseason All-ACC Second Team selection, Brown was also a 2017-18 Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 and was on the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year watch List.
A native of Boston, MA, Brown averaged 11.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals in 52 career games for the Hurricanes. As a freshman, he scored a career-high 30 points against eventual national champion North Carolina. He also recorded two of the three triple-doubles in Miami program history.
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