Detroit Pistons to Sign Luigi Datome from Italy for $3.5 Million

In search of some outside shooting, the Detroit Pistons have agreed to terms (2 years, $3.5 million) with Italian League MVP Luigi Datome. The 25-year old marksman played for Virtus Roma last season, averaging 16.6 points and 5.8 rebounds (on 47% shooting from the field.) . Per the AP: “The Pistons wanted to add a player with Datome’s skill set soon after adding former Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith. They found what they were looking for in the 25-year-old Datome, who is from Italy. The 6-foot-7 forward, who has made 40 percent of his 3-point attempts over the last 10 years, averaged 16-plus points and nearly two 3-pointers per game last season. Detroit desperately needed to upgrade the talent on its roster this summer and took a big step Saturday, agreeing to a $54 million, four-year deal with Smith. The 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward scored a team-high 17.5 points last season for the Hawks and also averaged 8.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.2 steals. The Pistons hired coach Maurice Cheeks to replace Lawrence Frank, who was fired a day after they finished 29-53 this year. Detroit will likely start the 27-year-old Smith it its frontcourt with 23-year-old power forward Greg Monroe and center Andre Drummond, who turns 20 next month. In the backcourt, the Pistons have Brandon Knight and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the No. 8 overall pick in last month’s draft. The franchise, mired in a four-year postseason drought, went into the offseason with $20-plus million in cap space.”