Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
JULY 20TH, 4:10pm: The deal is official, the team announced.
JULY 8TH, 3:21pm: The Pistons have reached an agreement with free agent Joel Anthony on a deal that will keep the center in Detroit, reports Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter links). The pact is for two years and $5MM, with the second season non-guaranteed, Ellis relays.
It’s certainly not a shock to see Anthony returning to Detroit. The Pistons were reportedly looking to bring back the unrestricted free agent, with team executive/coach Stan Van Gundy viewing the 32-year-old as an elder statesman who can be valuable in tutoring younger players. “Obviously we can’t negotiate with him yet, we can’t talk money,” Van Gundy told Ellis prior to the start of the free agent signing period. “I talked to him [June 26th]. Again, we’ve told him consistently we would like to have him back.”
Anthony appeared in 49 games for the Pistons during the 2014/15 campaign, averaging 1.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 8.3 minutes per contest. His career numbers through eight NBA seasons are 2.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 1.1 BPG, with a slash line of .509/.000/.661.
Good for the Warden…keep holding down that block as long as possible big man. Miami misses you
The way SVG so highly values him says a lot. I don’t know if he would have seen that much more than the minimum elsewhere.
Really wish they would go after a better defensive center and take a chance on a guy like larry sanders or javale mcgee
Sanders is out of basketball
Anthony is the ugliest player in the NBA and the Pistons deserve .
by the way who is the Pistons head coach Ron Jeremy ?