Now that the Detroit Pistons have made the jump from being a rebuilding team to one with deep playoff aspirations, they have to be more savvy and careful with their roster-building decisions. Every contender has to find value on the margins, whether it is veterans on team-friendly deals, formerly undrafted players, or young players overperforming their rookie-scale contracts.
The Summer League provides an excellent opportunity to identify such players and lock them down for cheap, value contracts. One summer standout should be near the top of Detroit's potential targets as they finalize the back end of their roster.
Summer League Standout Is the Perfect Pistons Target
David Jones-Garcia continues to light it up in Vegas for the Spurs!
— NBA (@NBA) July 15, 2025
28 PTS
6 REB
5 3PM
4 AST pic.twitter.com/a2izH1subz
David Jones-Garcia of the San Antonio Spurs summer league team has arguably been the best player in Las Vegas so far. The 6'6" small forward is averaging 24.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1.7 steals in 24.3 minutes per game, while hitting 63.2% of his threes on 6.3 attempts. He has a plus/minus of +17 through three games, one of the best marks in Vegas.
The 23-year-old wing will certainly go through a shooting regression, but he has already shown enough to earn a guaranteed NBA contract. After going undrafted in 2024, Jones-Garcia spent most of last season in the G League, averaging 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game. He ended up signing a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz but wasn't able to make his NBA debut.
After the departures of Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr., the Pistons are still looking for more shooting. Duncan Robinson will certainly help on that front, but Detroit is still a below-average shooting group, especially for a playoff team. Someone like Jones-Garcia, who can not only make them, but can also create threes, could be an excellent option off the bench for Detroit.