John Lucas III joins the Pistons on a 10-day contract
On Monday, the Pistons announced that they signed guard John Lucas III to a contract of 10 days, in a move that pay per head services believe could be very beneficial for the team.
Detroit were looking to get one more point guard since the 24th of January, as Brandon Jennings suffered an injury to his Achilles that put his season to an end. The terms regarding the player’s contract have not been revealed.
Lucas, whose season in China just finished after he signed an expensive contract with Fujian Quanzhou Bank, was released by the Wizards in October.
Last season, Lucas, 31-years-old, was playing with the Jazz, and was with the league for the fourth time following spells with the Rockets, Bulls, and Raptors.
The player is the first one of many arrivals of league veterans who featured this season in China, and is looking to go back to the NBA as soon as their contracts in China are over. In the NBA’s radar, other well-known players are Metta World Peace, Bobby Brown, Sebastian Telfair, and Andray Blatche.
Lucas, who this season is processing a contract – unguaranteed – with Utah, saw that last summer he was in the middle of a couple of trades, first making a move from the Jazz to the Cavaliers, being part of a swap in July involving many players, and then going to the Celtics from the Cavaliers in a contract that took place in the 25th of September, before Cleveland’s training camp began.
The Celtics, without the need of having one more point guard, agreed to release the player some days after they traded him so that Lucas could look for another team, which led to the contract with Washington.
After they lost the services of Jennings, Detroit were looking to make a trade for the veteran, and sources said that one of the Pistons’ first targets was the Knicks’ Pablo Prigioni. However, pay per head services learned that Stan Van Gundy, having a double role as team president and coach for the Pistons, was keen about not letting part with any picks in the future – which include second-round players – in a guard trade. That led the Pistons key in on Lucas.
NBA fans will see how the Pistons will benefit with Lucas in their ranks, and hope that the player will be able to boost the team and their performance in upcoming games.
