Pistons Shuffle Roster With Multiple Moves Before Pacers Matchup

Over the past day, the Detroit Pistons have shuffled around their roster as they gear up for the post-All-Star break run.

On Wednesday, Detroit fired up a series of roster moves, beginning with the decision to waive the two-way guard Malcolm Cazalon. The French native was in the midst of his first season in Detroit and had the opportunity to appear in just one matchup.

Cazalon’s departure freed up a two-way slot for the Pistons. They quickly replaced the undrafted rookie with the former Syracuse standout, Buddy Boheim.

Detroit then decided to promote one of their other two-way players, Stanley Umude. With a standard contract, the Pistons plan to have Umude on the books for two seasons, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

With Umude’s sudden promotion, the Pistons had room to make another two-way signing on Thursday. They went to their G League pipeline, signing Tosan Evbuomwan to a two-way contract.

In Evbuomwan, the Pistons landed a former Princeton standout who entered the NBA as an undrafted prospect in 2023.

He played for the Pistons during his first NBA Summer League run. Although he was waived by Detroit back in October, Evbuomwan returned to the organization by joining the Motor City Cruise in the G League.

Last month, Evbuomwan garnered an opportunity to join the Memphis Grizzlies on a 10-day contract. While with the Grizzlies, he appeared in four matchups, averaging 19 minutes on the court. He shot 27 percent from the field, averaging three points, four rebounds, and two assists.

As for Umude, he took a similar path to Detroit out of Arkansas two years ago. After going undrafted in 2022, Umude joined the Motor City Cruise. During the summer of his upcoming sophomore season, Umude landed a two-way deal with Detroit.

This year, he appeared in 13 games for the Cruise, averaging 18 points on 43 percent shooting from the field and knocking down 38 percent of his threes. By joining the Pistons’ main roster, Umude could start to find some minutes in the rotation as the Pistons finish out the 2023-2024 regular season.

Detroit returns to the court on Thursday to face the Indiana Pacers after a week-long break.