The Detroit Pistons added two key pieces to their roster on Sunday, signing both D.J. Augustin and Caron Butler to multi-year deals.
The team first moved on D.J. Augustin, securing a commitment from the free agent guard on a two-year, $6 million contract.
Free agent guard DJ Augustin has reached a two-year, $6 million deal with the Detroit Pistons, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 14, 2014
Augustin, who is 26, played an integral role in keeping the Chicago Bulls relevant after the loss of star point guard Derrick Rose last season. After the Toronto Raptors released him just ten games into the season, Augustin appeared in 70 games for the Bulls, averaging a career-high 14.9 points to go along with his 5.0 assists per game. He also shot a tremendous 41.1 percent from three-point range.
The addition of Augustin will give the Pistons a capable backup to starting point guard Brandon Jennings, and a more-than-capable scoring threat off the bench.
The Pistons then turned their attention to small forward Caron Butler, reaching an agreement with the 34-year-old on a two year deal believed to be worth about $9 million.
Butler spent most of last year with the Milwaukee Bucks, where he played in 34 games, averaging 11.o points and 4.6 rebounds per contest. The Bucks bought him out of his contract in February, however, and he spent the remainder of the season with the Oklahoma City Thunder. In 22 games with Oklahoma City, he averaged 9.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. In that same stretch, he shot 44.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Butler’s value in Detroit will lie in his ability to stretch the floor and create open looks for his teammates with his three-point shooting.
Soon after the signing, Piston’s center Andre Drummond welcomed the team’s newest additions via his Twitter account, and Butler responded:
@AndreDrummondd thx young fella lets get better#100#uconn
— Caron Butler (@realtuffjuice) July 14, 2014
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