Detroit Pistons: Complete grades for the 2019 NBA offseason
By Phil Watson
Adding Tony Snell, stockpiling assets
The rest of draft night for the Detroit Pistons was about smaller moves.
They selected Isaiah Roby of Nebraska with the No. 45 overall pick, but packaged the Utah Jazz’ 2020 second-round pick and the Portland Trail Blazers 2021 second-rounder with Roby to get Lithuanian wing Deividas Sirvydis, the No. 37 overall selection, from the Dallas Mavericks.
That move came after the Pistons had traded Jon Leuer to the Milwaukee Bucks to get veteran wing Tony Snell and the rights to 30th overall pick Kevin Porter Jr., whom they flipped to the Cleveland Cavaliers to get the Utah and Portland picks used to acquire Sirvydis, along with Portland’s 2023 second-rounder and a top-55 protected 2024 second-round pick from the Miami Heat.
Snell is a six-year veteran, a former first-round pick of the Chicago Bulls in 2013 that settled into a backup role with Milwaukee last season, averaging 6.0 points and 2.1 rebounds in 17.6 minutes per game while shooting 45.2 percent overall and 39.7 percent on 2.8 3-point tries per game.
Snell will bring a 3-and-D presence to Detroit and will be looking to become a regular member of a rotation again after being pushed to the end of the Bucks’ bench during their Eastern Conference Finals run last spring, logging just 28 minutes in nine games.
Sirvydis, meanwhile, got limited play in Las Vegas and was unimpressive. The 19-year-old scored nine points with three rebounds, an assist and a block in 34 minutes over the five games in which he played, going 3-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-6 from deep.
Last season with Lietuvos Rytas in his native Lithuania’s top circuit, the LKL, he averaged 5.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 15.0 minutes per game on 41.8 percent shooting overall, hitting 36.4 percent on 3.3 3-point attempts a game.
At 6-foot-8 and just 190 pounds, he will need to grow into his frame to make it in the NBA and will likely remain in Lithuania this season if he’s not assigned as a draft-and-stash with the Drive.
The Pistons’ final draft night move was finalized in early July, with Detroit sending cash and Miami’s heavily protected 2024 second-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for No. 57 overall pick Jordan Bone, who signed a two-way deal after averaging 12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 19.7 minutes over three games in Vegas for the Pistons.
He shot 41.4 percent overall and was 2-for-7 from long range.
Snell can help the Pistons right away. Sirvydis and Bone, meanwhile, will be longer-term investments.