Detroit Pistons 2014-15 Profile: D.J. Augustin
New Detroit Pistons point guard D.J. Augustin is coming off a resurgent season playing for the Chicago Bulls, averaging 13.1 points per game, 4.4 assists and a 16.22 Player Efficiency Rating.
The Pistons will be his fourth NBA team since leaving the Charlotte Hornets, where he began his career in 2008. He spent one year in a limited role with the Indiana Pacers, went to the Toronto Raptors to start the 2013-14 season, and wound up being cut. Augustin was left for scraps and it seemed like his career was in limbo.
The Bulls then took a chance on him in December after star point guard Derrick Rose went out for the 2013-14 season, and Augustin didn’t disappoint.
He resurrected his career and showed he can be a part of a winner. That led to signing a nice two-year, $6 million contract with the Pistons this past summer.
Augustin is expected to come off the bench and spell Brandon Jennings. The times that Jennings gets too erratic and out of control, that’s when Augustin will step in and calm things down. But he’ll also be competing for minutes with point guard Will Bynum, who’s the longest tenured Piston.
“It’s going to be competitive all around,” Augustin told the team website. “We’re only going to push each other and make each other better, make the team better. At the end of the day, we’re all here to do a job and it’s on coach to make the decisions. But we have to push each other and get better and make the team better.”
He has a great feel for the game and shot 40.1 percent from downtown last season, which should help Detroit’s shooting woes.
With Detroit’s roster that features Greg Monroe, Andre Drummond and Josh Smith, Augustin think he’s a great fit in Motown.
“You have guys like Greg and Andre down low, Josh can post – having those guys with us around them, the defense can’t really double team those guys and focus on them because they have to get out to us and it spreads the floor and spaces things out.”
Let’s see if Augustin can flourish under head coach Stan Van Gundy the same way he did under Tom Thibodeau in Chicago.
Fuad Shalhout is a Detroit Pistons writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
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