Boban Marjanovic isn’t having second thoughts about signing an offer sheet with the Pistons this summer despite his limited playing time, Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News reports. Marjanovic’s three-year, $21MM contract was structured so that the Spurs would have virtually no chance of matching, since they didn’t have his Early Bird rights or enough cap space. He’s currently the third-string center behind Andre Drummond and Aron Baynes and has appeared sparingly in four games. “You never know what is a good decision, but you have to believe you are making a good decision,” Marjanovic told Orsborn. Marjanovic’s playing time could expand next season if Baynes opts out of the final year of his contract, as expected.
In other news regarding the Pistons:
- Point guard Reggie Jackson has begun limited basketball activities but is still weeks away from returning, according to Rod Beard of the Detroit News. Jackson received platelet-rich plasma injections more than a month ago to relieve his left knee tendinitis, as well as a right thumb injury. He has been sidelined since the preseason. “It feels like literally I had dead leg for five weeks,” Jackson told Beard and other beat reporters. “I’m just trying to find trust in my leg to be able to cut. It’s not there yet; I did a few things but it’s still iffy.”
- Jackson’s replacement in the lineup, Ish Smith, has shot 29% from the field over the last five games but that won’t take away his aggression, Aaron McMann of MLive.com writes. Smith signed a three-year, $18MM contract in July to be Jackson’s backup. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to keep shooting because we’re getting good shots,” Smith told McMann and other writers. “Missing easy ones that’s rolling around. Little floaters. Little pull-ups. That’s how it is.”