Jonas Jerebko averaged 28 minutes per game as a rookie.
In the last two years, he’s played that much in a game just six times, including zero times last season.
It’s been a frustrating few years for the Pistons who forward, who missed the entire 2010-11 season due to an Achilles injury, lost Lawrence Frank’s trust and then never received Maurice Cheeks’.
Yet, Jerebko will opt into the final year of his contract – which will pay him $4.5 million next season – to stay in Detroit.
Jerebko, via Borås Tidning:
Jerebko on his previous experiences with new Pistons coach/president Stan Van Gundy:
Jerebko will make $4.5 million – more than he could have gotten anywhere else. Everything else is just window dressing.
At his best, he’s an excellent offensive rebounder, energetic defender and good enough spot-up 3-point shooter. At his worst, he over-dribbles, shoots too much and plays a step slow defensively after using all his energy to create his own shot.
Jerebko showed glimpses late last season of returning to the player he was his first couple years in the league, but not enough to get a bigger contract this summer. If he sustains that production over longer stretches next season, there’s an outside chance his salary could rise in 2015.