The New Orleans Pelicans made a couple of moves on Thursday to reduce their training camp roster to 19 players. According to Michael Scotto of Hoopshype, the two players the Pelicans parted ways with were Adonis Arms and Matt Ryan.
Detroit Pistons Reportedly A Landing Spot For Recently Released Sharpshooter
Arms went undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2022. The 6-6 guard spent the last two years in the G-League Grand Rapids Gold (Denver Nuggets) and Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies).
Arms spent this past summer league with the Sacramento Kings. Arms appeared in six games with the Kings in California and Vegas, averaging 13. 8 points on 56.7% shooting from the field. He did not appear in the Pelicans’ first NBA preseason game.
It is not a surprise that Arms, who will likely end up with the G-League Birmingham Squadron, was waived. He signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Pelicans on October 1, so he is guaranteed a $77,5000 guarantee if he spends 60 days with the Squadron.
However, Ryan’s release was kind of surprising. The Pelicans only have 14 players on standard contracts, and Ryan has 63 games of NBA experience and is a dead-eye 3-point shooter. Plus, Trey Murphy III is dealing with a shoulder injury and may be sidelined into the regular season.
Ryan spent part of last year with the Pelicans on a two-way contract. The 27-year-old wing produced a career season with 5.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 1.5 3-pointers while shooting 43.4/45.1/92.9. He scored in double figures in seven of his 28 appearances, topping the 20-point mark once. This is the second time this summer that Ryan has been waived by the Pelicans, as he was released from his two-way deal in August.
Ryan did appear in one preseason game for the Pelicans. He missed all three shots, including both of his 3-point attempts, in a little over eight minutes of action off the bench. He also finished with one rebound, one steal, one turnover, and two fouls.
Detroit Pistons Interested In Ryan?
Due to his shooting prowess, Ryan should draw some NBA interest, whether down the road or prior to the season. The problem is Ryan doesn’t do much more than shoot, and since he is strictly a catch-and-shooter, he is not an efficient scorer. Also, ball-handling and defense are issues.
Detroit Pistons Insider Keith Langlois believes that the Pistons may be interested in Ryan.
Interesting player who is an excellent 3-point shooter and played for the Pelicans last season where Trajan Langdon was general manager. Pistons have an open roster spot if they choose to make a waiver claim and they’re first in line.
As Langlois pointed out, Pistons general manager Trajan Langdon is very familiar with Ryan. And, as Langlois said, the Pistons get first dibs on all waiver claims if they decide to submit one because they finished with the worst record in the NBA last season.
Detroit was one of the worst 3-point shooting teams last season. The Pistons finished 29th in 3-pointers made (11.0), 27th in 3-point attempts (31.7) and 26th in 3-point percentage. However, the Pistons re-signed Simone Fontecchio, inked free agent Malik Beasley, and traded for Tim Hardaway Jr. this offseason.
Detroit is 2-1 in the preseason. They face the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center on Sunday night. The Pistons have two open roster spots, one standard and one two-way spot. They are $10 million below the NBA cap.
Despite those moves, the Pistons remain one of the worst 3-point shooting teams, making just 10.5 treys on 35 attempts while canning them at 29%. Beasley is shooting the ball decently well, making 2.3 3-pointers a game. But Fontecchio and Hardaway have struggled in the early going. Meanwhile, Wendell Moore Jr. has played well.
Even if Detroit decides to pass on placing a waiver claim on Ryan, they still could sign him to an Exhibit 10 contract. As long as no other team claims him. If the Pistons don’t sign a free agent to fill out their roster, Lamar Stevens appears to have the inside track for the 15th spot.
