The Detroit Pistons still have an open roster spot with less than a week left before the season opener. Some teams like to keep their options open and maintain flexibility by holding onto that spot heading into the season, but for the Pistons, there is an obvious candidate who deserves that final guaranteed contract. Under-the-radar guard Daniss Jenkins has been having an impressive preseason so far, and established that he is an NBA-caliber player in his start against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.
Daniss Jenkins Deserves the Pistons' Final Roster Spot
The Pistons rested Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, and Caris LeVert in their third preseason game, which meant that Jenkins got to play a game-high 35 minutes. The Cavs, who played their starters extended minutes, had a difficult time defending the 24-year-old guard, who finished with 19 points and six assists on 5/6 shooting from the field. He made three of his four three-pointers and went to the line seven times. He looked the part of a rotation-level NBA guard with a deep three in the first half and an impressive finish in traffic in the fourth quarter.
As it usually is with role players in the NBA, the swing skill for Jenkins will be his shooting. He has good positional size, can handle the ball, and play both ends of the floor, but for him to be able to play next to the Pistons starters, he needs to be able to space the floor.
Shooting has been an inconsistent part of Jenkins' game so far. He improved during his four-year college career, going all the way up to 36% from deep in his last two seasons. During his time in the G League last year with the Motor City Cruise, he was down to 33.5%. Yet, he is certainly not scared to shoot, getting up 7.7 threes per game in the G League. This confidence is what makes him an intriguing player, as he averaged 21.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 1.8 steals per game in 32 games for the Cruise last season.
The Pistons could bring in a free agent to fill the final open roster spot, or could reward a player from inside the organization. Jenkins has clearly been showing improvement and could have some untapped potential. Instead of keeping him on a two-way contract, bringing him up to the big team to let him continue to develop could be a good idea. This would open up a two-way spot that the Pistons could potentially use on a younger developmental project.