Stanley Johnson now plays an important part of the Detroit Pistons’ defense. However, his long term position is questionable as speculation about his trade arise.
According to Bleacher Report, his second year in Detroit Pistons has been in question. He has been out of the Pistons rotation in several games, and he even violated team rules and suspended.
The 20-year old forward was selected as the 8th overall pick by Detroit Pistons in the 2015 NBA draft. His first season with the Pistons went well with average 8.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. His defensive skill and his scoring prowess provide a good contribution for Detroit Pistons and he fitted well in the Stan Van Gundy system.
But his second season with Pistons turned out bad. As his play has declined significantl, averaging only 3.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. His inconsistencies in the sophomore year made the Pistons ponder about his long term position.
However, the Pistons is not ready to trade him yet. One option which may be possible is to demote him to D-League. He was demoted to play in the D-League to play for Grand Rapids Drive on Dec.10. In his D-League debut he made a tremendous play by scoring 26 points in 37 minutes. A few hours later, Detroit Pistons called him back to the team but gurantee no significant minutes of play.
In his comeback to the NBA on Sunday, Dec. 11 against the Philadelphia 76ers, he led the team assists, posting four of them and 6 points. However the Pistons lost 75-97 at home.
Performance of the 6’7" player gradually improved in a Wednesday’s 95-85 victory over Dallas Mavericks with 7 points and 2 rebounds. His versatile defense played the important role for Pistons win according to Detroit Free Press.
Watch the highlight of his one and only game in the NBA D-League on Saturday, Dec. 10 below: