Luka Garza might have been the national player of the year in college basketball as a senior at Iowa, but his road to the NBA was always going to be a difficult one. But if there’s one thing Garza has shown in his brief time since being drafted No. 52 overall by the Detroit Pistons, it’s that he is always up for to the challenge. His hard work has paid off with a two-way contract with the Pistons. The deal was first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic.
While you at one point could have described Garza as an old-school big man, he has slimmed down considerably since the end of his senior season, tirelessly worked on expanding his game with an effective 3-point shot and has left every bit on the floor for the Pistons during Summer League.
Garza has averaged 13.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game for the Pistons in four Summer League games. He also has shooting splits of .529/.429/.857. He will likely spend a lot of time with the Motor City Cruise while also providing big man depth.
The Pistons will likely start either Isaiah Stewart or Kelly Olynyk at center, and while Jahlil Okafor is under contract for one more season he seems like a prime candidate to either be involved in a trade or get waived by the Pistons.
The Pistons previously signed undrafted rookie forward Chris Smith to a two-way deal so they will not be able to offer any additional deals. Other players the Pistons might want to keep around include undrafted rookie Jamorko Pickett and roster veterans Deividas Sirvydis and Tyler Cook.