The Detroit Pistons roster is coming into its final form, and it will include 37th overall pick Bobi Klintman after the Swedish combo forward and the team reportedly agreed to a four-year deal, including two years guaranteed.
Klintman, who previously played in Australia, is a 6-foot-9 forward with a 7-foot wingspan who was acquired in a draft night trade by the Pistons. Second-round picks often sign two-way contracts these days, but Shams Charania of The Athletic reports Klintman has landed a spot on the 15-man roster with a $7.99 million contract.
Last season, Klintman averaged 9.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists, and 0.5 blocks in 21.3 minutes per game. He shot 35.7% from 3 on about four attempts per game. He also played one season at Wake Forest in the NCAA, averaging 5.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 0.6 blocks, and shot 36.8% from 3.
Klintman has solid athleticism and intriguing wing/big-forward tools, and while he’ll be on the 15-man roster, I imagine he will get most of his playing time this season with the Motor City Cruise.
The Pistons will use a second-round pick exception for Klintman’s guaranteed deal. That means he can be signed to a contract, but his money won’t count against the cap until July 31. The benefit for Detroit there is that they can wait for much more of the offseason to play out and see if they can use their remaining salary cap space in a future trade. If the Pistons are lucky enough to find a trade that allows them to absorb salary for an asset, great. They will then sign Klintman using a piece of its room exception. If they can’t find a trade, they’ll simply use the remaining salary cap space and preserve the full room exception for a potential future deal.
The move puts Detroit’s roster at 14 players, including new additions Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr., Malik Beasley, Paul Reed, and Wendell Moore Jr. There are also rookies Klintman and fifth overall pick Ron Holland. That group joins the returning players — Cade Cunningham, Isaiah Stewart, Ausar Thompson, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Simone Fontecchio, and Marcus Sasser.
The team has also agreed to a two-way deal with undrafted rookie Daniss Jenkins, and Tosan Evbuomwan, a two-way player last season, might also still be in the plans. de