Stanley Johnson learning new tricks entering second year
The Detroit Pistons wing player had another high-level Orlando Pro Summer League performance Friday, which doesn’t matter much on surface, except he is focusing on weaknesses this year, with nary a thing to prove at this level.
“I probably would’ve went right but that’s the type of thing I’m working on, that’s the type of thing that’s going to matter when the season happens — not going to summer league and going to the right hand and getting the and-one, it’s about going left and getting the flow, and getting somebody to contest and hit me to the ground.
“The work that I did this summer already, once I’m really finished working on everything, I think I’ll be able to score from all three levels very efficiently, and then defend, and then I’ll build off that,” he said.
Key three, however it’s spelled: The Pistons won all eight standings points — one each for the four quarters, and four for winning the game — largely on the strength of a Kammeon Holsey 3-pointer late in an 18-15 first quarter.
Making his case: Lorenzo Brown, who like Holsey has played extensively with the Grand Rapids Drive, finished last season with the Pistons and has a non-guaranteed contract for a team still unsettled at third point guard and with only about $6 million in cap space left.
He ran the show in a second quarter when Detroit pulled away and finished with 12 points and two steals.
A key summer point: Possibly the one thing Pistons executives are watching closest is whether second-round pick Michael Gbinije, who played shooting guard at Syracuse until shifting to point guard as a senior, can serve as third-team point guard during the regular season.
The Effect goes to Sacramento: Anthony Tolliver, who played most of two seasons with the Pistons, agreed to a reported two-year, $16 million contract with the Sacramento Kings, with $2 million guaranteed in the second season, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick.
Tolliver was acquired by the Pistons from Phoenix, for Tony Mitchell, in a December 2014 trade, when Detroit was mired in the depths of a 5-23 start to the 2014-15 season.
Almost simultaneously, Josh Smith was released, and the Pistons launched a dramatic turnaround which Tolliver playfully dubbed “The Tolliver Effect,” even though he did not play early in the seven-game win streak immediately following his acquisition.