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DETROIT – The Detroit Pistons announced today that the team has re-signed guard Hamidou Diallo. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed. 

Diallo, 6-5, 202, was acquired by the Pistons from the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 13, 2021, in exchange for Svi Mykhailiuk and future draft consideration. In 20 games (four starts) as a Piston, Diallo averaged 11.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 23.3 minutes. Overall, he recorded career-high averages of 11.6 points (48% FG), 5.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 23.6 minutes in 52 games (nine starts) with the Thunder and Pistons last season.

Diallo, 23, was selected 45th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets and subsequently involved in two trades to Charlotte and then Oklahoma City following the draft. In 149 career NBA games (15 starts), he’s averaged 7.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.7 steals in 17.8 minutes with Oklahoma City and Detroit.  He also won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest as a rookie at the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend in Charlotte. 

A native of Queens, N.Y., Diallo played one season collegiately at Kentucky in 2017-18, averaging 10.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals in 24.8 minutes over 37 games (all starts).

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DETROIT PISTONS RE-SIGN HAMIDOU DIALLO

DETROIT – The Detroit Pistons announced today that the team has signed center Luka Garza and forward Chris Smith to two-way contracts.  Per team policy, terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

Garza, 6-11, 235, earned unanimous 2020-21 National Player of the Year honors after averaging 24.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.6 blocks and 31.6 minutes in 31 games as a senior at Iowa. He led the nation in points (747) and field goals made (281) while shooting .553 from the field and .440 from 3-point range in 2020-21. Garza was a two-time unanimous All-America First Team selection and two-time Big Ten Player of the Year while becoming Iowa’s all-time leading scorer (2,306), marking the seventh-highest scoring total in Big Ten history.

Garza became the first Big Ten player to average at least 23.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in consecutive seasons since 1994. He finished his career as a Hawkeye with averages of 18.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in 127 games.

Smith, 6-9, 215, played four seasons at UCLA and averaged 8.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 105 career games for the Bruins.  He averaged 12.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in eight games as a senior prior to a season-ending injury.  As a junior, Smith posted averages of 13.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists and was named the Pac 12’s Most Improved Player of the Year while earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors.

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Detroit Pistons Sign Luka Garza and Chris Smith to Two-Way Contracts

DETROIT – The Detroit Pistons announced today that the team has re-signed guard Rodney McGruder. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed. 

McGruder, 6-4, 205, tallied averages of 5.7 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists in 12.1 minutes over 16 games (two starts) with Detroit in 2020-21. The five-year NBA veteran shot .529 from the field and .458 from 3-point range a season ago. McGruder was acquired by Detroit from the L.A. Clippers as part of a three-team trade that also included the Brooklyn Nets on Nov. 19, 2020.

Following a four-year career at Kansas State, McGruder made his NBA debut for the Miami HEAT on Oct. 26, 2016. He went on to play three seasons for Miami before suiting up for the Clippers for the 2019-20 campaign. He has career averages of 5.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists in 234 NBA games (118 starts) and has played in nine NBA Playoff contests across two playoff appearances, one with each of his former teams.

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Detroit Pistons Re-Sign Rodney McGruder

DETROIT – The Detroit Pistons announced today that the team has re-signed guard Frank Jackson. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed. 

Jackson, 6-3, 205, averaged 9.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists in 18.5 minutes over 40 games (six starts) with Detroit in 2020-21. Jackson shot .457 from the field, .407 from distance and .813 from the free-throw line a season ago while under a two-way contract with the Pistons. He had four games with at least 20 points and scored in double figures in 21 contests.

The Duke product was drafted 31st overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2017 NBA Draft and made his NBA debut for the New Orleans Pelicans on Oct. 17, 2018. Jackson holds career averages of 7.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.0 assists in 16.9 minutes over 160 NBA games (24 starts).

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Detroit Pistons Re-Sign Frank Jackson

DETROIT – The Detroit Pistons announced today that the team has re-signed guard Cory Joseph. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed. 

Joseph, 6-3, 200, averaged 12.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.2 steals in 26.4 minutes over 19 games (11 starts) as a Piston.  Overall, Joseph played in 63 games in 2020-21, averaging 8.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.0 steals in 23.0 minutes with Sacramento and Detroit. He was acquired by the Pistons, along with draft considerations, from the Sacramento Kings on Mar. 25, 2021 in exchange for guard Delon Wright. 

The Toronto native holds career NBA clips of 7.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.8 steals in 663 games (134 starts). Joseph has suited up for San Antonio, Indiana, Toronto, Sacramento and Detroit through 10 NBA seasons. He was drafted 29th overall by the Spurs in the 2011 NBA Draft following his freshman campaign at Texas.

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Detroit Pistons Re-Sign Cory Joseph

DETROIT – The Detroit Pistons announced today that the team has signed free agents Kelly Olynyk, Trey Lyles and restricted free agent Saben Lee.  Per team policy, terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

Olynyk, 6-11, 240, enters his ninth season in 2021-22.  A former No. 13 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, Olynyk spent the 2020-21 season with the Miami Heat and the Houston Rockets, playing in 70 regular-season games averaging 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 28.5 minutes.  He scored 10-plus points 26 times while playing the Rockets and totaled 11 double-doubles.

Before being traded to Houston last season, Olynyk spent four seasons with the Miami Heat from 2017-20, playing 265 games averaging 10.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists in 22.8 minutes.  Olynyk scored a career-high 32 points against the Celtics on December 20, 2017, and twice has scored a career-high 26 points in the playoffs. Olynyk began his NBA career in Boston from 2013-17, playing in 278 games averaging 9.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 20.7 minutes. Olynyk was named to the All-Rookie 2nd team in 2013-14.

As a collegian, Olynyk spent three years at Gonzaga from 2009-13—averaging 8.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 17.2 minutes while shooting .594 from the field. In 2012-13, Olynyk won the West Coast Conference Player of the Year Award, was a Wooden Award Finalist, and was a Consensus All-America 1st team finalist.

Lyles, 6-9, 234, arrives in Detroit after spending the last two seasons with the San Antonio Spurs.  He appeared in 23 games in 2020-21, averaging 5.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 15.6 minutes while shooting .478 from the field.  Lyles played in 63 regular-season games in 2019-20 and recorded clips of 6.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 20.2 minutes per contest. 

Prior to his time in San Antonio, Lyles played for the Utah Jazz and the Denver Nuggets. Lyles appeared in 151 games for the Jazz between 2015-17, averaging 6.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.8 assists while shooting .400 from the field. During his two seasons in Denver, Lyles played in 137 regular-season games between 2017-19, averaging 9.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 18.3 minutes while shooting .456 from the field. Lyles scored a career high 26 points against the Utah Jazz on January 5, 2018, while grabbing 11 rebounds and tallying 4 assists.

As a collegian, Lyles played one year at Kentucky during the 2014-15 season—averaging 8.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 23.0 minutes while shooting .488 from the field. Lyles made the ALL-SEC Freshman team and was a two-time winner of the SEC Freshman of the Week award.

Lee, 6-2, 183, enters his second season with the Pistons after coming off a rookie campaign where he appeared in 48 games—averaging 5.6 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 16.3 minutes while shooting .471 from the field in.  Lee scored a season and career-high 22 points on November 5, 2021, against the Minnesota Timberwolves, shooting .778 from the field and going 8 for 8 from the foul line.  He also totaled 4 rebounds and 5 assists in that game.

Prior to his rookie year in Detroit, Lee spent 3 seasons at Vanderbilt University. In that time, he appeared in 96 games averaging 13.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while shooting .471 from the field. As a Junior, Lee was second-team ALL-ACC and led the team in scoring with 18.6 points per game.  Lee scored a career-high 38 points against Alabama on March 3, 2020. 

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Detroit Pistons Sign Free Agents Kelly Olynyk, Trey Lyles and Restricted Free Agent Saben Lee

DETROIT – The Detroit Pistons announced today the completion of a trade in which the club acquired the draft rights to Balsa Koprivica, the No. 57 selection in the 2021 NBA Draft, from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Mason Plumlee and the drafts rights to JT Thor, the No. 37 selection. 

Koprivica, 7-1, 240, was selected 57th overall in this year’s draft and averaged 9.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 19.5 minutes through 24 games during the 2020-21 season. Over his two-year career at Florida State, Koprivica averaged 6.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 14.6 minutes in 51 career games. 

The Belgrade, Serbia native was named to the 2021 All-ACC Tournament First Team and shot .632 from the floor during his time as a Seminole, marking the second-highest field goal percentage in school history. 

Plumlee, 6-11, 254, appeared in 56 games (all starts) for Detroit in 2020-21, posting averages of 10.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.9 blocks in 26.8 minutes.

In one season at Auburn, Thor, 6-10, 205, averaged 9.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 23.1 minutes over 27 career games.

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Detroit Pistons Complete Deal with Charlotte Hornets

DETROIT – The Detroit Pistons announced today that the team waived guard Cory Joseph, forward Tyler Cook and guard/forward Deividas Sirvydis. 

Joseph, 6-3, 200, was acquired by the Pistons, along with draft consideration, from the Sacramento Kings on March 25, 2021 in exchange for guard Delon Wright.  In 19 games (11 starts) as a Piston he averaged 12.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists in 26.4 minutes per game.  Overall, Joseph played in 63 games in 2020-21 averaging 8.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists with Sacramento and Detroit.

Cook, 6-8, 255, signed a multi-year contract with Detroit on April 7, 2021 following two 10-day contracts with the Pistons.  In 28 games (one start), he averaged 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 15.0 minutes per game.

Sirvydis, 6-8, 190, saw action in 20 games last season and averaged 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds in 6.7 minutes per game.