{"id":177023,"date":"2026-02-09T06:44:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T11:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=177023"},"modified":"2026-02-09T06:44:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T11:44:24","slug":"minor-leaguer-gets-historic-contract-how-does-it-affect-pistons-future-plans-who-could-get-their-open-2-way-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/02\/09\/minor-leaguer-gets-historic-contract-how-does-it-affect-pistons-future-plans-who-could-get-their-open-2-way-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"Minor Leaguer Gets Historic Contract, How Does It Affect Pistons Future Plans & Who Could Get Their Open 2-Way Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dannss Jenkins<\/a> and the Detroit Pistons<\/a> finally reached a much-anticipated agreement. Jenkins, in his second year on a two-way contract with the Pistons, reportedly turned down a two-year minimum contract<\/a> offer by the Pistons<\/a> late last month. He was awarded very handsomely earlier today.<\/p>\n

“Daniss Jenkins will sign a two-year, $8 million deal with the Detroit Pistons, league sources told Hoopshype’s Michael Scotto<\/a>. “Jenkins will earn the highest single-season conversion amount ever for a two-way player.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Minor Leaguer Gets Historic Contract, How Does It Affect Pistons Future Plans & Who Could Get Their Open 2-Way Spot<\/h2>\n

After appearing in seven games for Detroit last season, Jenkins took advantage of injuries to several Pistons and played extremely well. He ultimately solidified his place as Cade Cunningham<\/a>‘s primary backup, which was the main reason the Pistons felt comfortable<\/a> sending Jaden Ivey<\/a> to Chicago<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jenkins had a strong November but saw his time cut during December. However, he has been very consistent since the calendar turned to 2026.<\/p>\n

Jenkins averages 8.2 points and 3,3 assists and just 1.3 turnovers for the season in 17 minutes over 42 appearances. Jenkins also knocks down 1.0 threes a game with shooting splits of 43\/39.1\/80. He has scored in double-figures 15 times, including three 20-point efforts.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Jenkins has shown he is not just a backup. Jenkins has increased his production in the seven games he has started, averaging 15.3 points, 6.7 assists, and 3.1 rebounds, though he hasn’t been nearly as efficient. The Pistons are 6-1 in those contests and 32-10 in the games he has started.<\/p>\n

While Jenkins has drawn attention for his offensive production, his point-of-attack defense and composure are his true calling cards. Jenkins is a physical on-ball defender who can absorb contact and stay attached to ball-handlers through screens.<\/p>\n

To make room for Jankins, the Pistons waived Dario Saric.<\/a> Saric, acquired in the Ivey trade, did not appear in a game for the Pistons. He has only played in five games, totaling 41 minutes this year.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Jason Parkhurst, Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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<\/smartframe-embed><\/p><\/h3>\n

What does Daniss Jenkins ‘ signing mean?<\/h3>\n

While Jenkins’s salary for this season is not yet known, the Pistons used their bi-annual exception valued at $5.13 million to sign him. So, let’s assume he is making that much this year. If that is the case, it puts the Pistons less than $700,000 below the luxury tax.\u00a0 Next year’s deal is a team option.<\/p>\n

If Detroit exercises Jenkins option, which is pretty much guaranteed, the Pistons still have plenty of flexibility. Jenkins would give the Pistons 11 players signed with a salary totaling around $135 million. Thus, leaving them with around $30 million in cap space. Jalen Duren<\/a>, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, figures to eat a good portion of the cap when he inks his new deal. They also have their own first-round pick in June.<\/p>\n

The Pistons won’t have the bi-annual exception next. But, they should have the non-taxpayer exception and Dennis Schroder<\/a> trade exception ($14.1 million).\u00a0 Their biggest need will be to add a two-way power forward and some shooting off the bench, as Tobias Harris<\/a> certainly won’t return unless on a real cheap deal, and recently acquired Kevin Huerter<\/a> is also a free agent.<\/p>\n

What are the potential options for Detroit’s Open 2-Way Spot?<\/h3>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

But that is the summer, back to the here and now. With Jenkins promoted, the Pistons have an open two-way spot.\u00a0 Jaden Akins,<\/a> Drew Peterson<\/a>, and Brice Williams<\/a> would be the best “in-house” options as all three are playing for the\u00a0 Motor City Cruise.<\/p>\n

Akins, selected for the 2026 NBA G League<\/a> Next Up Game, is the likely choice to be promoted.\u00a0 Undrafted out of Michigan State,<\/a> the\u00a0 6-4 combo guard averages 17.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.2 steals.\u00a0 He has scored in double-figures 28 times and knocks down 1.9 threes with shooting splits of 43.9\/35.5\/80.4.<\/p>\n

Akins and Jenkins are from the same mold. Akins is a strong point\u2011of\u2011attack defender with size and fits the Pistons ‘ identity and mode. He excels in on-ball pressure while also being capable of navigating screens. Additionally, he is at his best when getting downhill and is more of a secondary creator.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dannss Jenkins and the Detroit Pistons finally reached a much-anticipated agreement. Jenkins, in his second year on a two-way contract with the Pistons, reportedly turned down a two-year minimum contract offer by the Pistons late last month. He was awarded very handsomely earlier today. “Daniss Jenkins will sign a two-year, $8 million deal with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3146,"featured_media":177078,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,10,2,62,3],"tags":[50107,268,1332],"class_list":["post-177023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-pistons","category-featured","category-nba","category-news","tag-daniss-jenkins","tag-dario-saric","tag-nba-g-league"],"modified_by":"Daniel Benjamin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177023"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":177080,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177023\/revisions\/177080"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}