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Daniss Jenkins signs new two-way deal with the Detroit Pistons

2025-08-04T09:39:44-04:00

Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Jenkins offers point guard depth, will have opportunity to grow in G League

Point guard Daniss Jenkins signed a new two-way deal to officially return to the Detroit Pistons organization, according to the official transaction log on NBA.com, and first reported by Keith Smith.

Jenkins played sparingly for the Pistons as an undrafted free agent on a two-way deal last season, but he played well in 47 games with the Motor City Cruise. He averaged 18.5 points, 6.4 assists, 2.9 turnovers, and 1.4 steals in 35.7 minutes per game for the Cruise. He appeared in just seven games, totaling 23 minutes, for the Pistons last season.

He showed some encouraging signs in the NBA Summer League in July. Yes, you should take a lot about Summer League with a grain of salt, but you could see some of the fruits of Jenkins’ offseason labors.

Jenkins routinely looked like one of the best players on the floor in five Summer League contests, including a big matchup against last year’s No. 3 overall pick Reed Shephard of the Houston Rockets.

Jenkins averaged 14 points in 22 minutes per game, but most importantly, his shot looked much more fluid, and the results matched. He shot just under 45% from the field and 42% from deep in Summer League. He also rarely turned the ball over (1.6 per game), which counts as a minor miracle in the chaos ball known as Las Vegas Summer League.

The Pistons still have two open roster spots, and it is not out of the realm of possibility that they would be interested in converting Jenkins’ deal to a fully guaranteed NBA contract.

The Pistons could use a traditional point guard as a depth piece in a crowded guard rotation. The Pistons will obviously lean on Cade Cunningham extensively, and Jaden Ivey is nearly assured the lion’s share of the backup point guard minutes. Detroit also signed Caris LeVert as another secondary passer this offseason and has talked up the idea of putting the ball in Ausar Thompson’s hands more in bench lineups.

All of that is to say that the Pistons have plenty of people they want to give the ball to but no actual point guards outside of Cunningham. It feels like Marcus Sasser will forever be an undersized scoring two-guard, and that’s fine. But that means if Cunningham goes down for any stretch, the point guard issues could become an acute pain point for the Pistons.

There are certainly better players than Jenkins who are still available on the free agent market, but I’m sure all of those players would want to be guaranteed some playing time that the Pistons cannot necessarily provide.

The free agent page on HoopsHype shows a who’s who of ghosts of Pistons point guard past. The current “top 15” point guards include Monte Morris, Delon Wright, Cory Joseph, and Reggie Jackson.

Jenkins, either on a standard NBA deal or on a current two-way deal at least provides Detroit an option should an injury force the Pistons’ hand. And he won’t be requiring regular playing time, just the opportunity to keep trying to grow his game to a level where he can have an actual NBA career.

Submit your questions for The Pindown: A Detroit Pistons Podcast

2025-08-02T17:00:00-04:00

Tune in live Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET to join in on the conversation.

It’s mailbag time!

Send in your questions now for this week’s episode of The Pindown: A Detroit Pistons Podcast to discuss everything Pistons free agency. Submit your question to the comments section here or on X/Twitter to @TheRealWesD3 and/or @blakesilverman.

Join us live on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET for the show where we’ll be joined by Detroit Bad Boys’ Laz Jackson to discuss everything Pistons. What are Laz’s Summer League takeaways having been in the building? Is there anyone under the radar that could take up one of the team’s final roster spots?

Plus, The Pindown has a phone line where you can leave a message and hear your voice on the show. Call (313) 355-2717 and leave us a voicemail with your question. Please try to keep the message around 45 seconds or less so we can fit everyone into the show.

The podcast will be uploaded to all audio platforms the following morning.

The Pindown: A Detroit Pistons Podcast Vitals:

When: Tuesday August 5 at 7 p.m. ET

Where: Detroit Bad Boys YouTube Channel

How to submit questions:

Detroit Bad Boys Website: Comment section of the weekly Pindown episode articles.
Call (313) 355-2717 and leave us a voicemail with your question. Please try to keep the message to 45 seconds or less.
Twitter: @detroitbadboys, @blakesilverman or @therealwesd3
YouTube: Chat section of The Pindown live recording — Subscribe here

As always, leave any questions or topics you want to be discussed in the comment section below.

Listen to the show’s recording the following morning wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Last Week’s Show:

The Pindown: Could Malik Beasley Still Fit?

2025-08-02T08:42:41-04:00

Discussing Free Agency, Ausar Thompson & Ron Holland, & more!

What yard work projects do you have going on right now? Yes, the guys do touch on that. But, hey, it’s August in the NBA! Robbie Bettelon rejoins the show to break down the Pistons offseason and look ahead into the future. But first, they all throw out a few book and movie recommendations to get you through this dead period. They then break down if Malik Beasley could still return, and, if so, how he would fit. Questions surrounding extensions for Ivey and Duren, as well as Ausar Thompson. Speaking of the young core, which are you most confident will still be on the roster in four years?

We’ve got you covered for all this and more in this week’s episode.

Detroit Bad Boys YouTube

Follow Wes Davenport on Twitter @TheRealWesD3

Follow Blake Silverman on Twitter @BlakeSilverman

Follow Sean Corp on Twitter @sean_corp

The Pindown: A Detroit Pistons Podcast is your home for fan-driven Pistons content. Hosted by Wes Davenport, from Motor City Hoops and producer of the Pistons Pulse Podcast, and Blake Silverman, DBB’s resident draft expert covering both the Pistons and the Motor City Cruise. The guys bring a reasoned analysis to a uniquely interactive show. And if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, call (313) 355-2717 and leave your question as a voicemail. The guys will play your message and answer your question on that week’s episode! All we ask is that you keep your questions to under 45 seconds.

Submit your questions for The Pindown: A Detroit Pistons Podcast

2025-07-31T11:29:39-04:00

Tune in live Friday at 1 p.m. ET to join in on the conversation.

It’s mailbag time!

Join us live on Friday at 1 p.m. ET for the show where we’ll be joined by Detroit Bad Boys’ Robbie Bettelon to discuss everything Pistons. Is there another move to come or is Detroit’s offseason complete? Call your shot, what’s your boldest prediction for next season?

The podcast will be uploaded to all audio platforms the following morning.

The Pindown: A Detroit Pistons Podcast Vitals:

When: Friday August 1 at 1 p.m. ET

Where: Detroit Bad Boys YouTube Channel

How to submit questions:

Detroit Bad Boys Website: Comment section of the weekly Pindown episode articles.
Call (313) 355-2717 and leave us a voicemail with your question. Please try to keep the message to 45 seconds or less.
Twitter: @detroitbadboys, @blakesilverman or @therealwesd3
YouTube: Chat section of The Pindown live recording — Subscribe here

As always, leave any questions or topics you want to be discussed in the comment section below.

Listen to the show’s recording the following morning wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Last Week’s Show:

The Pindown: Summer League Takeaways

2025-07-26T13:23:03-04:00

Discussing Ron Holland, Chaz Lanier, roster construction & more!

Summer League has wrapped up and we are fully in the dog-days of the NBA schedule. But there is plenty to be excited about with the Detroit Pistons! Blake and Wes break down Ron Holland’s impressive showing at summer league and Chaz Lanier performing at expectation. They also discuss some minor concern for Bobbie Klintman, if there is enough shooting in the rotation and whether or not there is any credence to the recent Cam Thomas rumors.

We’ve got you covered for all this and more in this week’s episode.

Detroit Bad Boys YouTube

Follow Wes Davenport on Twitter @TheRealWesD3

Follow Blake Silverman on Twitter @BlakeSilverman

Follow Sean Corp on Twitter @sean_corp

Pistons risk losing their identity with their offseason moves

2025-07-25T10:33:59-04:00

After a tumultuous offseason, the veterans who supported Detroit’s young core have almost all been replaced

Let’s take a walk down memory lane and review some team-building trends in the NBA over the last 20 years. Let me take you back first, to the 2010s, where the NBA was dominated by the “big three.” After LeBron James famously took his talents to South Beach, the name of the game in the Association became trying to get a trio of star players in one place and fill out the rest of the roster with veterans willing to sign lesser deals for a ring chasing opportunity. Sometimes it worked, most of the time it failed. But the truth remained it was the best, and perhaps only viable path to winning a championship.

Fast forward to today, and roster building looks completely different. Out is stockpiling stars, and in its place is depth and culture. Over the past few seasons, this has become the gold standard of team building. Don’t get it twisted; stars still matter, but it is equally important to have a stockpile of versatile role players and a locker room that emphasizes the team as a whole.

Successful teams now have 10 players who buy into their specific roles. Deep, versatile benches were on full display in the NBA Finals, as the Indiana Pacers, a team without a top-10 player, were not just making an appearance in the NBA Finals, not just making it competitive, but within reach of hoisting the trophy.

They played a unique style that featured a fast-paced offense and guards picking up their opponents 94 feet away on defense. In some ways, they were reminiscent of a tenacious college program.

The team they lost to? The Oklahoma City Thunder. Yes, they have a generational talent and MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but tune into any postgame interview and you quickly see the unique culture the Oklahoma City Thunder has built on full display.

As a Detroit Pistons fan, why is this important? Well, for the first time in nearly a generation, Detroit has correctly aligned itself with how forward-thinking organizations are constructing their teams in the modern NBA. Of course, they have a superstar in Cade Cunningham. But last season, the team had depth, a palpable culture, and plenty of wins. Those things are all related.

It was the culture that was so jarringly different from so many seasons past. For many years, the franchise and its top players possessed poor body language, lacked leadership, and often appeared to sleepwalk through winnable games (sorry, Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson). As I wrote last season, the culture that permeated through the walls of Little Caesars Arena was real and tangible. The fans could feel it as much as the players. While Cunningham is the unquestioned leader and best player, and younger players like Jalen Duren and Isiah Stewart grew louder voices last season, so many ingredients went into the culture the Pistons built and are building.

First and foremost, the Pistons finally got the right veterans in place. The impact made in the locker room by Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Dennis Schröder was obvious. Tune in at any point last season, and you’d see the four elder statesmen mentoring younger teammates during timeouts and leaping off the bench to celebrate the team. And more importantly, when they talked, you’d see Cunningham and the rest of Detroit’s young core listening intently.

Make no mistake, this has not always been the case. In fact, for many years in Detroit, it was as rare as a Josh Smith 3-pointer. As fans, we cannot take for granted how rare that is, as the organization has seen firsthand with this same young core how bleak things can be without a strong culture, and veterans that actually command respect.

Trajan Langdon expressed a desire to run it back next season. Continuity and internal growth laying the groundwork to build on last year’s success. A funny thing happened along the way, however. The Pistons lost nearly all of last year’s critical veteran additions.

Only Tobias Harris and, if we’re being charitable, Paul Reed, remain. Make no mistake about it, the Malik Beasley situation is unfortunate and out of the Pistons’ control. In addition to having a historic season from three-point land, Beasley was arguably the Pistons’ most vocal leader. It is a monumental loss. Beasely aside, however, turning Schröder and Hardaway Jr. into Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert is a risk going into a critical season in which the franchise expects to take a step towards contender status in a depleted Eastern Conference. The risk comes both on the court and in the locker room.

For starters, the Pistons often turned to Hardaway Jr. for his steadying veteran leadership in the locker room. Like Beasley, he had roots in Detroit (his parents live in the area and attended most home games), and by all accounts, he wanted to be here. On the court, his fit was seamless in Detroit, and he played an underrated role. He provided immediate spacing for Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, and had a penchant for heating up at the right time. While he will never make any All-Defense teams, Hardaway Jr. demonstrated an understanding of the team’s scheme and provided a level of resistance on D that the players replacing him have not shown. In this exercise, thinking of Robinson replacing Hardaway Jr. is at least worth questioning. While Robinson is the superior shooter, Hardaway Jr. brings more defensively, is a better driver and pull-up shooter, and is a known commodity in the team’s cultural infrastructure. Not to mention, he is on a cheaper contract. While Robinson is by all accounts a respected player around the league, his fit in the locker room is unknown.

Schröder’s return always seemed murkier than that of THJ or Beasley. He was a mid-year addition and didn’t have as clear a role or path to minutes with the expected return to health of Jaden Ivey. By replacing him with Caris LeVert, the optimistic viewpoint of the move would be that Detroit is swapping Schröder’s tertiary creation with a taller player who provides a bit more reliable perimeter shooting. However, the numbers indicate that he is a spacer more in theory than in reality, as his career average of 34% from deep is the same as Schröder’s.

LeVert also carries a reputation amongst many who cover the Association as a ball stopper and someone who has yet to prove himself as a winning player. The defensive dropoff from Schröder to Levert is significant, and gives Detroit one less option to throw at an opposing team’s best perimeter player. It is not that long ago that Schröder was arguably the team’s second-best player in a hotly contested playoff series. That loss is significant, even if the situation and price point made his return unlikely.

In the end, the primary source of the team’s growth next season was always going to come by way of their young players improving. There’s plenty of reason to be optimistic about that. However, I wonder if the Pistons will regret not bringing back THJ over one of the fellow University of Michigan products that replaced him on the roster. With Ivey returning as a secondary creator, it’s fair to ponder if swapping Levert’s creation for Hardaway Jr.’s more reliable spacing while still replacing Beasley with Robinson may provide more defensive upside and floor spacing. It may have been the most financially prudent move for this roster. As we enter the back half of the summer, and training camp becomes less and less distant, how the Pistons can maintain their positive culture will be a storyline worth monitoring.

Share your thoughts: did the Pistons get it right with these off-season moves?

A new look coming for Detroit Bad Boys in August

2025-07-24T12:00:00-04:00

Our coverage remains the same but with a new look

In just a couple of weeks, Detroit Bad Boys is switching to a new platform as part of SB Nation’s network-wide move to a new publishing platform. This will change the look of the site and also make it faster and more reliable on any device you use. This is an upgrade.

When you land on the site, it will look cleaner – less clunky, with more white space, a better ad experience with faster load times – but will still have all the usual articles, analysis, and news by all the folks you know.

Community discussion and content created by you will be more prominent in the new design. The best comment threads will be easy to find, and staff and commenters alike will be able to start conversations whenever they like with a brand new tool.

We’re planning on an early August reveal, so we wanted to give you a heads up. You’ll hear more from us when it’s almost here. The site will look a little different, feel a little faster, and, most importantly, have a bigger role for you, the community.

So, stick around and check it out!

Submit your questions for The Pindown: A Detroit Pistons Podcast

2025-07-24T00:30:00-04:00

Tune in live Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET to join in on the conversation.

It’s mailbag time!

Join us live on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET for the show where we’ll discuss the past week of Pistons basketball. What are your main takeaways from NBA Summer League? With the Colby Jones addition, what could it mean for the other two-way spots?

The podcast will be uploaded to all audio platforms the following morning.

The Pindown: A Detroit Pistons Podcast Vitals:

When: Thursday July 23 at 8:30 p.m. ET

Where: Detroit Bad Boys YouTube Channel

How to submit questions:

Detroit Bad Boys Website: Comment section of the weekly Pindown episode articles.
Call (313) 355-2717 and leave us a voicemail with your question. Please try to keep the message to 45 seconds or less.
Twitter: @detroitbadboys, @blakesilverman or @therealwesd3
YouTube: Chat section of The Pindown live recording — Subscribe here

As always, leave any questions or topics you want to be discussed in the comment section below.

Listen to the show’s recording the following morning wherever you listen to your podcasts.