<
>

Report: Thomas has to fight through PF logjam to make Pistons roster

The Detroit Pistons currently have 18 players under contract and at least five of them can play at power forward. Adonis Thomas is one of those players and he's hoping a good run in training camp and the preseason will convince Stan Van Gundy to keep him on the regular season opening night roster. From David Mayo of MLive.com:

    "So while Thomas may face a tenuous numbers game, Van Gundy emphasized the flip side to him, that a guaranteed contract isn't a roster guarantee. 'The day I signed my contract, he told me, 'Hey, I know you're looking at the roster, at 17 guaranteed guys, and you're the only non-guaranteed guy or partially guaranteed guy.'' Thomas recalled. 'He said that anything can change. He said, 'We're looking to make some changes soon. We're not really focused in on who's on the roster right now. We're going to let go of maybe some guaranteed guys, or we're making some changes soon, or trades could be made.' ' If the Pistons have to keep four point guards while Brandon Jennings' recovery from a torn Achilles' is sorted, that essentially commits 14 roster spots. That would leave one spot for Thomas, Cartier Martin, Reggie Bullock or Danny Granger."

Thomas' two-year, minimum contract does provide $60,000 worth of salary protection, so he will get some money if he's cut in the preseason, which is a strong possibility.