Former lottery pick Stanley Johnson would welcome Pistons reunion

The eighth overall pick in the 2015 draft, Stanley Johnson spent his first three-and-half NBA seasons in Detroit but didn’t blossom into the player the Pistons hoped he would. He has bounced around the league since then. Now a free agent, Johnson said during a Twitter Q&A that he’d welcome the opportunity to return to his first NBA team, Mike Curtis of the Detroit News relays.

“I think the group is amazing,” Johnson wrote when asked about the current iteration of the Pistons. “(Head coach Dwane) Casey is amazing. Everything over there is great, we just didn’t figure it out. I’m 26. I’d love to right the wrong. Detroit loved on me crazy. The organization did too. I had a lot of growing up and trauma to deal with at 18, 19 (years old).”

A solid, versatile defender, Johnson has a decent chance to catch on with an NBA team at some point this season, but a return to Detroit seems unlikely to happen in 2022-23. The Pistons currently have a full 17-man roster and a 3-15 record, making them a long shot to seek veteran role players on the free agent market.

Here’s more from around the Central:

• The Pacers, who have won five in a row and nine of their last 11, look like they’re joining the Jazz as presumed lottery teams who are a little too talented to be major players in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes, writes Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star.
• George Hill and Jrue Holiday are among the Bucks veterans who believe center Brook Lopez should be the leading candidate for this season’s Defensive Player of the Year Award, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “You want my honest opinion?” Hill said. “He should have been Defensive Player of the Year for many years now.”
• Referring to Friday’s disaster as a “career-worst night,” Bulls star Zach LaVine said after a Monday win over Boston that a conversation with his father helped him move on from his 1-of-14 showing and a late-game benching, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “He gave it to me straight,” LaVine said. “‘You played like s–t. Go play better next game. It’s as simple as that. It’s one game. You’ve played 500 games in your career. You’re going to have another bad night. Just hopefully it’s not as bad as that one. Go play better next game.'”