The Motor City Cruise announced updates to their front office today, naming Max Unger as the team’s new general manager. In a related move, Ben Carloni, the Cruise’s general manager from 2022-24, has transitioned to a basketball operations role with the Detroit Pistons as director of basketball administration.
Unger now enters his second season with the Cruise. He served as the team’s assistant general manager last season, working hand in hand with Carloni. Unger helped facilitate a trade with the Osceola Magic that brought former University of Michigan point guard Zavier Simpson to the Cruise last season. Simpson then set Cruise franchise-highs for total points scored (938) and assists (388) in a season.
Throughout the 2023-24 season, the Cruise tied the league-high in NBA call-ups with five, including Simpson, Tosan Evbuomwan, Stanley Umude and Buddy Boeheim.
“I am extremely excited for the opportunity to build on the success of the Motor City Cruise and lead our players, coaches and staff members with the same values and principles established by Trajan Langdon and his team this offseason,” Unger said in a news release which announced his promotion. “We look forward to a successful upcoming G League campaign and supporting the Detroit Pistons with the growth and development of our players.”
Unger was instrumental in other additions to the Cruise roster last season that brought in Nathan Knight and Jayce Johnson, who served as key pieces of head coach Jamelle McMillan’s rotation. Unger also helped bring in Sam Peek and Devon Higgs, who played with the Pistons’ Summer League team in July.
Unger, 31, began his NBA front office career with the San Antonio Spurs, where he served as a basketball operations quality assurance assistant for two seasons (2019-21). He then joined the Pistons as a college scouting coordinator, a role he held prior to being promoted to assistant general manager for the Cruise last season.
He’ll manage the Cruise’s roster moving forward, dealing with the fluid nature of G League roster construction due to NBA call-ups, players signing deals overseas and injuries. The Cruise roster is currently highlighted by Evbuomwan and Daniss Jenkins, who are both under two-way contracts with the Pistons.
The Cruise will host local player tryouts next month, which have produced multiple G League players in the past in Peek and Malique Jacobs. Unger will have plenty of transactions to make as the Cruise round out their roster for the 2024-25 season, including the G League Draft scheduled for October 26.
The Motor City Cruise announced that Max Unger has been named the franchise’s General Manager.
Unger is entering his second season with the Cruise, where he was the assistant GM last season. #DetroitBasketball @detroitbadboys
— Blake (@blakesilverman) August 26, 2024