Alabama Guard John Petty Earns Summer League Spot With Pistons
Alabama senior guard John Petty Jr. will get a chance to play in the NBA Summer League with the Detroit Pistons after going undrafted in Thursday night's NBA Draft. The schools all time leading 3-point shooter was hoping to be selected in the second round but instead has to play his way into becoming an NBA player.
"Little bit disappointed that Petty didn't drafted but he had a knee injury that kind of kept him out of a lot of workouts this spring so he wasn't able to really play his way into it. So I talked to his agent last night and again this morning, he's going to play Summer League with Detroit, with a chance to play his way into a two-way contract," said Alabama head coach Nate Oats. "He'll be in camp with somebody, he's jus going to have to play his way in. He's one of the better shooters in the county, it's just unfortunate with some injuries this spring but really looking forward to all three of those guy trying to make a roster here this fall on some NBA team,"
Petty is the school record holder for most 3-point makes with 311 and earned SEC First Team in his senior year and SEC Second Team in his junior year. Petty averaged 12.6 points and 5.3 rebounds and almost two assists per game for the SEC Champion Crimson Tide.
"There's no guaranteed contracts in the second round so if you don't get drafted you can pick which team you want to go to. The Pistons have been high on him since last summer," said Oats.
A two-way contract allows for a player to be under NBA control and play for its G League Affiliate or on the NBA roster. Each franchise can only have two players on a two-way contract and they are limited to players with less than four years of NBA experience.
The Pistons are no stranger to Alabama players in their system, forward Donta Hall played for the Motor City in the 2019 Summer League. He impressed enough to earn a spot in the G League and has now earned his way into several 10-day contracts and a role with the Orlando Magic.
Detroit finished last in the Eastern Conference last season with a 20-52 record. The team could use a strong shooter as they finished 24th in the league in 3-point percentage and 22nd in 3-pointers made per game in 2020-21.
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