Eugene Omoruyi has been a fun story in a lost season for the Detroit Pistons.
Waived by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Omoruyi came to Detroit on a 10-day deal. He played well, earning a second 10-day deal. Now, he’s played well enough that he’s earned a real NBA deal, the team announced today.
Term were not disclosed.
Omoruyi is a fun add. He looks like an NFL player out there with his bulk and size, but he plays his ass off and really does a lot of little things for the Pistons. The 6-foot-7 forward has averaged 8.8 points and 3.6 rebounds on 46% shooting from the field.
He’s only hitting 25% from 3-point range, but he’s made some loud ones along the way:
I said this on Twitter when I saw the news, but Omoruyi will never matter for a good future Pistons team. Heck, he might just be remembered as 2023’s version of Tyler Cook.
But his fit alongside Detroit’s plethora of centers gave us a glimpse of the type of power forward needed for this team to function at its best.
Hopefully, that guy is Victor Wembanyama, but in the scenario that it is not, we know a low-volume, high-energy guy with chops to defend on the outside and an ability to hit open shots (ultimately, at a better clip than Eugene) is what’s best for Jalen Duren or James Wiseman going forward.
And, hey, maybe I’m wrong and he is a glue guy that sticks around into the future. That would be fun, too!
Regardless, good for Omoruyi — he’s earned this chance.