Stanley

Umude

After appearing in 25 games throughout two seasons with the Pistons, Umude will move to Milwaukee. He made 24 appearances for Detroit in 2023-24, averaging 5.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.0 3-pointers in 12.8 minutes. Umude shot 45.3% from three last season and has the frame needed to develop into a solid defender. He isn’t worth targeting in drafts before the 2024-25 campaign.

For the fourth straight game and fifth time in his last six games, Umude provided double digit points off the bench for the Pistons. There was a lot of hype surrounding Marcus Sasser earlier in the season, but Umude has taken his minutes over the past few games. Managers should ride the hot hand, just like Detroit is. Most of his production has come from points, though he has shot the ball incredibly well over his last few games. He spent last season in the G-League and is currently on a two-way deal with Detroit. Things change quickly for two-way players, but until it does, he’s worth rostering.

With the Pistons having been hit hard by injuries in the first two weeks of the season, Monty Williams has needed to call on guys who weren’t expected to be in the rotation at all. Umude is one of those guys, and the former Arkansas standout had a career night on Monday. Not only was this the first time he’s hit double figures in an NBA game, but this was also the second game (in seven career appearances) in which he’s scored a point. Umude won’t be worth adding anywhere in the aftermath of this performance, but it was fun to watch. Marcus Sasser, who has shined in a reserve role recently, finished Monday’s defeat with seven points (3-of-10 FGs), three rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one 3-pointer in 33 minutes.

Bagley played the majority of his minutes in the second half, and he had things rolling offensively. He combined with fellow reserves Killian Hayes (13/1/7/5 in 21 minutes) and Stanley Umude (12/4/3/0/1 with two 3-pointers in 19 minutes) to help the Pistons rally from 20 points down to force overtime. Bagley outperformed James Wiseman (four points, seven rebounds, and one steal in 16 minutes) on Sunday, possibly taking an early lead in the race to be Jalen Duren’s backup once the regular season begins. With Duren not returning to Sunday’s game after spraining his ankle in the first half, there stands to be more playing time available to Bagley and Wiseman during the preseason. That would give Monty Williams a larger sample size to work with as he finalizes his rotation.

The Exhibit 10 contract simply guarantees Umude a spot in training camp. Given the number of young guards on the roster, he faces a difficult fight to be with the team when Opening Night rolls around. Umude was waived by the Pistons at the end of training camp last October, going on to appear in 25 games for the team’s G League affiliate. That’s likely to be his fate this time around as well.

With this transaction, the Pistons hold the G League rights of both players.