Jerebko wastes no time making presence known

Posted Thursday, July 9, 2009

Jerebko wastes no time making presence known

LAS VEGAS - At 11:10 a.m. Pacific time this morning, Pistons personnel director George David took a call from FIBA giving Jonas Jerebko clearance to take part in the Las Vegas Summer League. By about 11:30, he had clearly established himself as the best player on the floor.

Jerebko was impressive for many reasons, but perhaps most for putting the ball on the floor, getting to the basket and showing the ability to finish in traffic. In a five-on-five scrimmage, Jerebko scored 10 of his team’s 22 points, hitting from inside and out and getting fouled consistently.

“He’s got a good feel for the game,” Pistons assistant coach Pat Sullivan said. “He knows how to play. You can see he’s a talented kid. He puts the ball on the floor. He’s one of those 3/4s who can spread the floor, can make a shot and also drive the ball, which is the direction our game is going now.”

The Pistons took Jerebko with the No. 39 pick after picking up two other hybrid forwards, Austin Daye and DaJuan Summers, at 15 and 35. Jerebko had a promise from Charlotte, picking 40th, to keep him on its roster next season, so Jerebko’s agent, Doug Neustadt, was calling teams picking ahead of the Bobcats to dissuade them from taking him and stashing him in Europe.

Other teams obliged, but the Pistons would not. They were already leaning toward keeping him on their roster for this season, but if they had any doubts, Jerebko’s Thursday cameo helped put them to rest.

“I’ve been waiting two days (for clearance),” said Jerebko, who speaks flawless English with little trace of an accent. “It was nice to get going and get a run in.”

Jerebko said he’s been told his game is actually better suited to the NBA than to Europe.

“There’s more space here,” he said, “so I feel comfortable taking the ball to the basket. In Europe, you’ve got 18 people in the paint just waiting for you. Here, it’s more open and it’s easier to get your shot off.”

Other impressions from Thursday’s scrimmage:


Summers has an NBA-ready body. Before Jerebko got clearance, the first unit lined up with Trent Plaisted at center, Summers at power forward and Daye at small forward. Summers looks like he’ll be able to hold his own with all but the most skilled post power forwards.

Daye started out slowly, then had three very nice plays in the second of two 12-minute quarters in the scrimmage. He dunked off a nice feed from Sean Singletary, drained an 18-footer with a lightning release off a catch-and-shoot, and threw a beautiful one-handed bounce pass in traffic for a layup.

Deron Washington showed off the improved offensive game he told me he’d developed in Israel, knocking down a few jumpers and showing a markedly better game off the dribble. When I asked Sullivan what stood out to him about Washington over last year, the first thing he said was how surprised he was at his improved off-the-dribble game.

Still no Will Bynum (personal reasons) or Walter Sharpe (minor injury being checked out in Detroit), so to help fill out the roster the Pistons have added two recent Michigan State Spartans, big man Marquise Gray and defensive specialist Travis Walton, a point guard. Gray was added last week, but Walton paid his own way to Las Vegas hoping to latch on with somebody.

The first game of Summer League is Friday when the Pistons play Sacramento and No. 4 pick Tyreke Evans. Tipoff is 6 p.m. Eastern. All 55 Summer League games are available for $14.99 at NBA.com/summerleague.