Pistons Sign Gigi Datome

JULY 15TH, 10:50am: The Pistons have officially signed Datome, according to the team's official Twitter feed.

JULY 9TH, 10:54am: Datome's deal with the Pistons will be for two years and $3.5MM, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). That means he'll be signed using either cap space or a portion of the team's room exception.

10:42am: Italian forward Luigi "Gigi" Datome has announced via Facebook that he has decided to sign with the Pistons (hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). It's not clear what the terms of the agreement are, but Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press says the news is "legit," and suggests a two-year deal is likely (Twitter links). Here's Datome's Facebook post, converted to English via Google Translate, so there may be a few details lost in translation:

"I decided to become a player for the Detroit Pistons. I think it may be the right place for me to make a quantum leap in my career and to fulfill the dream of a lifetime. I am very excited to join the group of players in Detroit. I want to thank my family, the President Toti, all Virtus Roma and with it his fans for their continued support and wish to Virtus the best for the future."

Datome, 25, has spent the last several seasons playing for Virtus Roma in Italy. In 48 games during the 2012/13 season, the small forward averaged 16.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and shot 51.5% from the field, earning MVP honors in the Italian League.

Even after reaching agreements with Josh Smith and Will Bynum, the Pistons should still have some room under the cap, so I'd expect Datome to be signed using a portion of that space, rather than on a minimum-salary deal.

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