Joining an NBA team on a 10-day contract is often a frenetic process. Players are required to fly to a new city and quickly acclimate with their new teammates and surroundings, all in hopes of making enough of an impression to reach a second 10-day contract — and, even more hopefully, a full deal after. It’s a small amount of time to uproot one’s life in search of greener pastures.
But according to Eugene Omoruyi, who signed such a deal with the Detroit Pistons on March 3, it’s actually not that difficult.
“It’s not hectic,” Omoruyi said in the locker room after Detroit’s 119-117 loss to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday. “It’s just playing basketball, the game I love. It’s pretty easy, just come in here to hoop. I’m playing and I’m close to home, which makes the transition easier.”
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Due to injuries, the Pistons had to lean heavily on Omoruyi. His play backed up his words, as he tallied 15 points and six rebounds — four on offense — in 23 energetic minutes off the bench. He was active in the paint, crashing the boards and capitalizing on second-chance opportunities. He was good defensively, using his 6-foot-7 frame and long wingspan to harass opposing players. And he earned the respect of his teammates and Detroit’s coaching staff.
Omoruyi’s workman-like approach helped the Pistons, who were without seven rotation players, stay competitive against a healthy Wizards team. Despite not having much time to acclimate, he was ready. Maybe 10-day contracts aren’t hectic after all.
“He’s just a dog, especially on both ends of the floor,” said James Wiseman, who scored 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting. “But really just locking up the rebounds and just being in there and mucking everything up on defense and being an energy guy. That’s what we needed to get over the hump, especially for this game. I feel like he was a great piece for our team.”
Omoruyi, a Benin City, Nigeria, native who grew up in Toronto, played three seasons (2016-19) at Rutgers before transferring to Oregon. As a senior for the Ducks, he averaged 17.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He signed a two-way deal with the Dallas Mavericks in 2021, and another two-way deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder last summer before the organization waived him in February. In 13 games with the Oklahoma City Blue of the G League this season, he averaged 17.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists and a steal in 26.8 minutes per game.
He has quickly gotten comfortable in Detroit. He checked in toward the end of the first quarter and missed his first three shots before settling in during the second. He knocked down a 3-pointer at the 9:51 mark, and then drove and dumped off a pass to Marvin Bagley III to get the big man an easy dunk a few possessions later.
Toward the end of the second quarter, he completed a fastbreak dunk following a steal from Isaiah Livers, and then hit a layup through contact after Jaden Ivey found him cutting through the lane. Late in the third quarter, he missed a layup but tipped in his own miss to cut Detroit’s deficit to two, 78-76. And before checking out for good in the fourth quarter, he grabbed a missed layup from R.J. Hampton and was fouled, earning two free throws which he hit to tie the game at 93.
“The young man, he knows how to play,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “He plays with a pure heart. He plays with a lot of intensity, uses his body. Really impressed with that young man, the way he plays. To come in here on a 10 day contract, to step in and learning the terminology as he goes, learning the plays as he goes, really, really impressed with him.”
After the game, Omoruyi was asked if he felt the clock ticking on his 10-day contract. Detroit’s lengthy injury report could incentivize the front office to keep him around a little longer with 16 games remaining.
Killian Hayes (left hand contusion), Isaiah Stewart (right hip soreness), Jalen Duren (bilateral ankle soreness), Bojan Bogdanovic (bilateral achilles tendinopathy), Alec Burks (left foot soreness) and Hamidou Diallo (right ankle sprain) all missed Tuesday’s game. Diallo could miss the rest of the season, as he’s slated to be re-evaluated in three to four weeks. It isn’t clear when the other players will return — assuming they do. This late in the season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Detroit’s medical staff shut several more players down.
It would mean more opportunities for Omoruyi, who gave the Pistons a jolt on a night they really needed one. He isn’t thinking about the clock ticking in the background. He just wants to keep playing basketball.
“I don’t even think about it,” he said. “I’m just playing. That’s what I’ve done my whole life. I’m from a neighborhood in Toronto where you just have to play through it. That’s how I’ve played my whole life.”