Hasheem Thabeet to Pistons: Latest Contract Details, Analysis and Reaction
Former No. 2 overall pick Hasheem Thabeet has found a fifth team willing to let him live out his dream. The 7-footer agreed to a nonguaranteed contract with the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, which will make him part of their training camp roster.
ESPN's Marc Stein first reported the news, which has yet to be confirmed by Thabeet or the Pistons:
Thabeet, 27, spent the last two seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He averaged 1.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per game in 2013-14, appearing in only 23 contests. The Thunder traded Thabeet to the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this month to create a trade exception and give themselves breathing room under the NBA's luxury tax.
Philadelphia almost immediately waived the former UConn star, who was taken by the Memphis Grizzlies with the second pick of the 2009 NBA draft. A day before signing with the Pistons, Thabeet thanked the Thunder organization and fans for embracing him the past two seasons.
"Wanna take a second to thank you OKC," Thabeet said in an Instagram post, which has been edited to remove capitalization. "The entire Thunder organization and the fans have been nothin [sic] short of amazing. The memories I've made here will last a lifetime and I appreciate y'all for that. Loud City; stay trill."
Thabeet has also played with the Houston Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers. While he's widely considered one of the biggest draft busts of the 21st century—Thabeet has started only 20 games in his first five seasons—he's developed a reputation as an excellent locker room presence and seemingly found a home in Oklahoma City.
Kevin Durant, who thanked every teammate in his 2014 MVP speech, highlighted Thabeet's ability to make him laugh—whether intentional or not.
"I can walk in and have a terrible day and I can see Hasheem smiling at me, at 7'3", with small pants on, and that will change my day," Durant told reporters at the time.
The Oklahoma City community also came to adore him for his enthusiasm, which typically included being the first person off the bench to celebrate after a big play. His "answering" of Caron Butler's flip-phone call celebration was one of the few smile-producing moments of the Thunder's Western Conference Finals loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
As for Thabeet's role in Detroit, there is at least an outside shot of him making the roster. The Pistons have only Andre Drummond and Aaron Gray at center, though Greg Monroe can capably play the position. He may be able to offer some level of guidance to Drummond defensively while also providing some humor in a locker room that features a couple off-beat personalities and has the Monroe contract situation looming.
More likely, Thabeet is a camp body looking to impress enough to get a shot elsewhere. Detroit already has 16 contracts with guarantees on the roster, one more than the NBA maximum, per Basketball Insiders. The Pistons also recently signed Lorenzo Brown to a similarly nonguaranteed contract.
It's possible that they creatively use their D-League roster to store talent, but it's unlikely head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy would use a valuable roster spot on someone who is unlikely to make a long-term impact. Thabeet's teams have been more than five points per 100 possessions worse with him on the floor for his career, per Basketball-Reference.com. Odds are he'll be used as a training camp body before being waived.
That said, he's one Gray or Drummond injury away from having a serious shot of making the roster.
Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
