2:32pm: Patton’s new deal includes a non-guaranteed second year worth the minimum, sources tell James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link).
2:25pm: The Pistons have signed free agent center Justin Patton to a contract, the team announced today in a press release. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but it figures to be a multiyear deal, since Detroit won’t be part of the resumed NBA season next month.
Patton, the 16th overall pick in the 2017 draft, was plagued by injuries during his first two NBA seasons with the Timberwolves and Sixers, breaking bones in both feet and appearing in just four total games. He signed with Oklahoma City last summer, playing in five games for the Thunder before being traded to Dallas and subsequently waived.
In 30 total G League games for the Oklahoma City Blue and the Wisconsin Herd in 2019/20, Patton averaged 12.1 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 2.9 APG, and an impressive 3.2 BPG in 27.0 minutes per contest.
The move makes the Pistons the first team in the NBA’s bottom eight to sign a player during the league’s transaction window this week. Detroit had a full roster at the time the season was suspended in March, but Donta Hall‘s 10-day contract has since expired, opening up a spot on the 15-man squad — Patton slides into that slot.
The signing of Patton also represents the first Pistons transaction since the team officially hired Troy Weaver as its new general manager last week. It seems safe to assume that Weaver played a key role in the transaction, considering he worked for the Thunder before arriving in Detroit.