Aaron Gray

Keith Langlois

The decision to cut Aaron Gray was both easy and tortured for Stan Van Gundy and Jeff Bower. The Pistons needed to cut somebody with a guaranteed contract to get to the 15-man limit and Gray's medical uncertainty made him the obvious target.

That became especially true after the Pistons brought in Joel Anthony to fill the role they thought they'd addressed by signing Gray early in free agency. Even if Gray were to clear the physical hurdles affixed to the cardiac episode he experienced in late August, there wasn't a need for both a third and a fourth center behind Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe.

But the same traits that made Gray the No. 1 candidate on Van Gundy's free-agent wish list for that role made it extremely difficult to part ways with him.

"It was actually fairly simple," Van Gundy said. "Either way, Aaron was going to get paid and take up a roster spot. To have to then cut another guy and pay somebody else not to play didn't make a lot of sense to us."

"It was hard in that we really felt bad for Aaron. Aaron worked really hard this summer. It's just really ironic because he probably got in the best shape of his playing career. It's really tough for him and we know that."

And because of that, they've let Gray know he has blanket access to their facilities while he awaits clarity with his medical condition in hopes of being cleared to play. Van Gundy suggested that possibly could happen later in the season, but the Pistons didn't have the luxury of waiting to add a spare big man, especially with Monroe already slotted to play considerable minutes at power forward in addition to being Drummond's primary backup.

"We really like him and a lot of the things he brings," Van Gundy said. "If he's thinking beyond the end of his career and is thinking about staying with basketball, we'd love to have him work with us during the year. Wer'e trying to create a situation that can be good for him and good for us. We had to make a decision to waive him, but we don't want to abandon a guy who made a commitment to us and has been a really good guy. And I hope that he sees that. We'd like to have him around."


decision-to-cut-gray-was-both-clear-cut-and-wrenching-for-pistons

Decision to cut Gray was both clear-cut and wrenching for Pistons

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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Stan Van Gundy announced today that the club has signed free agent forward Cartier Martin and center Aaron Gray to contracts. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Martin, a 6-7, 220-pound forward has career averages of 5.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 14.3 minutes in 220 games for Atlanta, Chicago, Washington, Golden State and Charlotte.  Martin played in a career-high 59 games last season with Atlanta and Chicago averaging 5.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 14.7 minutes.  He played in 53 games for the Hawks, scoring a season-high 17 points in 17 minutes at Dallas (10/30) and finished the year averaging 5.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game.

A native of Crockett, TX, Martin went undrafted in the 2007 NBA Draft out of Kansas State University after averaging 13.8 points (.399 3FG), 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 112 games during his four-year career.  He had a breakout junior season, averaging career-highs in points (18.0) and rebounds (6.6) in 28 games and averaged 17.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 35 games as a senior.  He has played professionally in Turkey, Italy and China, while also spending time in the NBA Development League with the Iowa Energy, where he was selected as a NBA D-League All-Star in 2009.

Gray, a 7-0, 270-pound center holds career averages of 3.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 12.1 minutes in 318 career games with Chicago, New Orleans, Toronto and Sacramento. He split time between Toronto and Sacramento during 2013-14 season, appearing in 37 games and averaging 1.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 9.6 minutes.

A native of Tarzana, CA, the 29-year-old spent the majority of last season with the Kings after being traded in December.  Gray averaged 1.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 10.2 minutes in 33 games with Sacramento.

Gray played collegiately at the University of Pittsburgh from 2003-07, where he averaged 9.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.2 blocks and 20.9 minutes in 113 games. During his junior year with the Panthers, Gray earned the Big-East 2005-06 Most Improved Player and was named to the All-Big East First Team after averaging 13.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 blocks in 33 games. He followed up his junior season with a solid senior year, averaging 13.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.7 blocks in 36 games and again, was named to the All-Big East First Team.

Aaron Gray

Decision to cut Gray was both clear-cut and wrenching for Pistons

Pistons Sign Free Agent Forward Cartier Martin and Center Aaron Gray