As the NBA regular season draws closer, the Detroit Pistons have made two moves towards the future as their final roster takes shape.
The team announced on Sunday that they'd picked up the fourth year option on Stanley Johnson and third year option on Henry Ellenson. Both are for the 2018-19 season, and the team had until October 31 to make the decision.
Update: The #Pistons have exercised team options on Stanley Johnson and Henry Ellenson for the 2018-19 season. #DetroitBasketball pic.twitter.com/PrkP1Uy4NR
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) October 15, 2017
Detroit's first-round pick from 2015 (eighth overall), Johnson enters his third NBA season looking to improve his numbers from last season. Playing in 73 games, he 4.4 PPG and 2.5 RPG. Over the course of his career, he's averaged 6.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.5 assists, 0.7 steals and 20.4 minutes in 150 NBA games (seven starts). He'll make $3,940,402 this season. He played college basketball at Arizona and was voted first-team All-Pac-12, and was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
Meanwhile, second-year forward Henry Ellenson averaged 3.2 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 0.4 assists and 7.7 minutes in 19 games (two starts) last season as a rookie. Originally selected 18th overall by the Pistons in the 2016 NBA Draft, Ellenson has split time between the Pistons and their D-League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive. He stands to make $1,857,480. Ellenson attended Marquette and earned All-Big East First Team, Big East All-Freshmen Team, and Big East Freshman of the Year honors in his only year.
Detroit kicks off the regular season at Little Caesars Arena on October 18 against the Charlotte Hornets before heading out on the road for two straight.
