Tolu Smith News, Rumors, Updates - Detroit Pistons

Active on glass in preseason Smith finished with six points (3-4 FG), six rebounds, two assists and one block in 10 minutes during Wednesday's 128-106 preseason victory over the Timberwolves.

Impact Smith collected five defensive rebounds and converted three of his four shots, making a noticeable impact despite his brief appearance. The reserve big man also avoided committing a turnover, but he faces considerable competition for frontcourt minutes behind Detroit's established rotation players.

5 DAYS AGO • ROTOWIRE

Team option picked up The Pistons picked up their team option on Smith's contract Monday, per Keith Smith of Spotrac.com.

Impact Smith brings the Pistons some depth at the center position behind Jalen Duren and Paul Reed. Smith appeared in just 15 regular-season contests a year ago, averaging 3.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game.

JUNE 29 • ROTOWIRE

Logs five minutes in loss Smith provided four points (2-2 FG), two rebounds and one steal over five minutes during Sunday's 125-94 loss to the Cavaliers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Impact Playing in his second NBA season, Smith was mostly reduced to G League appearances. With the Pistons, he appeared in just 15 regular-season contests with averages of 3.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game.

MAY 18 • ROTOWIRE

Tolu Smith signing doesn't mean what people think for the Pistons The Pistons' recent signing has fans wondering how it will affect the future.

APRIL 9 • PISTONPOWERED.COM

Pistons' latest signing might seal Paul Reed's fate for good Paul Reed could eventually be replaced by Tolu Smith in the Pistons rotation.

APRIL 8 • PISTONPOWERED.COM

Secures two-year deal Smith signed a two-year contract with the Pistons on Tuesday, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

Impact Smith was previously on a two-way contract with Detroit. He's made a total of 13 NBA appearances, posting averages of 3.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.5 blocks in 10.0 minutes per contest.

APRIL 7 • ROTOWIRE

Available Saturday Smith (knee) is available for Saturday's game against the Bulls.

Impact Smith will shed his questionable tag due to a right knee contusion and suit up Saturday. However, he isn't guaranteed to see meaningful minutes with Jalen Duren (suspension) back in the lineup.

FEBRUARY 21 • ROTOWIRE

Dealing with knee contusion Smith is listed as questionable for Saturday's game against the Bulls due to a right knee contusion.

Impact Smith may have sustained the injury during the Pistons' 126-111 win over the Knicks on Thursday, when he played 15 minutes and finished with three points, three rebounds and two assists. Even if he were cleared to play, Smith's minutes would likely take a significant dip, given that Jalen Duren will be available to play Saturday after serving a two-game suspension.

FEBRUARY 20 • ROTOWIRE

Sees 15 minutes Smith racked up three points (1-3 FG, 1-3 FT), three rebounds and two assists in 15 minutes during Wednesday's 113-95 win over the Raptors.

Impact With Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart both suspended, Smith logged his sixth appearance of the regular season. However, fantasy managers in need of streaming replacements should look elsewhere for value.

FEBRUARY 12 • ROTOWIRE

Available Wednesday Smith (calf) isn't listed on the Pistons' injury report for Wednesday's game against the Raptors.

Impact The two-way center has made just five appearances for Detroit all season and hadn't seen action in the G League with the Motor City Cruise since Jan. 26 while he managed a calf issue, but he joined the Pistons for morning shootaround Wednesday and should be available to play in the club's final game before the All-Star break, per Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press reports. With Jalen Duren (two games) and Isaiah Stewart (seven games) receiving suspensions for their roles in a brawl that occurred in Monday's win over the Hornets, Paul Reed will likely step into a high-minute role as the Pistons' starting center, but Smith could be part of the rotation as Reed's backup until Duren is back in the fold.

FEBRUARY 11 • ROTOWIRE

Career-best performance Smith accumulated nine points (1-7 FG, 7-8 FT), 14 rebounds, one assist, four blocks and one steal in 26 minutes during Saturday's 98-92 loss to the Clippers.

Impact Smith played just the sixth game of his career, dominating the glass with a career-high 14 rebounds, while also adding a career-high four blocks. Both Jalen Duren (ankle) and Isaiah Stewart (illness) were sidelined, while Paul Reed was limited to just 22 minutes due to foul trouble. This allowed Smith to step into the largest role of his career, rewarding anyone who took a chance on him in deeper formats. While this was a great performance, it should be treated as nothing more than an outlier unless Duren and Stewart continue to miss time.

JANUARY 11 • ROTOWIRE

Leonard, Collins and Harden power Clippers to comeback win over Pistons, 98-92

Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points and John Collins added 25 as the Los Angeles Clippers rallied to beat the short-handed Detroit Pistons 98-92

JANUARY 11 • Associated Press

Rare appearance Wednesday Smith finished with six points (3-4 FG), seven rebounds, two assists and one block over 16 minutes during Wednesday's 124-113 victory over Chicago.

Impact Smith played a season-high 16 minutes, moving into the rotation after it was earlier announced that Detroit would be without a number of its starters due to various injuries. This performance should not be viewed as anything other than an outlier, given he has not even been in the rotation for the majority of the season.

NOVEMBER 13, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

Donovan Mitchell scores 35 as the Cavaliers beat the Pistons 116-95 for their 3rd straight win

Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points in just 29 minutes, and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons 116-95 on Monday night for their third straight victory

OCTOBER 28, 2025 • Associated Press

Double-doubles in preseason Smith produced 11 points (4-6 FG, 3-7 FT), 11 rebounds, two assists and one block in 12 minutes of Monday's 128-112 preseason win over Memphis.

Impact Jalen Duren was out with hamstring soreness, allowing Smith to absorb some backup center minutes behind Isaiah Stewart. Smith, who is on a two-way contract, is expected to spend a lot of time in the G League this season. To his credit, he certainly showed the coaching staff that he'll be ready if his name is called upon this season.

OCTOBER 7, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

Scores through charity stripe Smith tallied 16 points (4-7 FG, 8-12 FT), six rebounds, three blocks and one assist over 26 minutes in Tuesday's 89-73 Summer League loss to the Timberwolves.

Impact Smith came up short of securing his third double-double of Summer League play but still managed to post 16 points, largely fueled by frequent trips to the free-throw line. The center spent nearly all of the 2024-25 season in the G League but made one regular-season NBA appearance with the Pistons, logging 14 points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes against the Bucks on April 13.

JULY 15, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

Double-doubles in win Smith racked up 15 points (4-7 FG, 7-8 FT), 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks across 23 minutes during Sunday's 98-83 Summer League win against the Rockets.

Impact Smith has recorded double-doubles in two straight games during the Las Vegas Summer League. The Mississippi State product continues to be a monster on the glass for Detroit, as he has racked up 23 boards across the last two games.

JULY 13, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

Double-doubles in win Smith racked up 15 points (4-7 FG, 7-8 FT), 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks across 23 minutes during Sunday's Summer League 98-83 win against the Rockets.

JULY 13, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

Two-way effort in Summer League Smith generated 16 points (6-13 FG, 4-7 FT), 11 rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocks over 26 minutes of Friday's 104-86 Summer League win over the Knicks.

Impact Smith's high-motor play style was on full display Friday, notching a double-double and accumulating three combined steals-plus-blocks in 26 minutes. Six of his 11 rebounds came on the offensive end, where he outmuscled New York's bigs for second-chance opportunities.

JULY 12, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

Connaughton has career-high 43 points as Bucks beat Pistons 140-133 in OT to close regular season

Pat Connaughton had a career-high 43 points and a season-high 11 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Detroit Pistons 140-133 in overtime to close the regular season on an...

APRIL 13, 2025 • Associated Press

Signs two-way with Detroit Smith signed a two-way contract with the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reports.

Impact Smith was a valuable commodity for Detroit's G League team, which has received averages of 17.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 blocks from him through nine games this year. Obviously, the 24-year-old is not expected to replicate all that output at the NBA level, but he provides a recently rising big man providing center depth for Detroit.

JANUARY 6, 2025 • ROTOWIRE

Waived by Detroit Smith was waived by the Pistons on Thursday.

Impact Smith was brought in during training camp on an Exhibit 10 contract, so he wasn't expected to make the opening-night roster. He'll likely start the 2024-25 campaign with the Motor City Cruise.

OCTOBER 18, 2024 • ROTOWIRE

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Leonard, Collins and Harden power Clippers to comeback win over Pistons, 98-92

Donovan Mitchell scores 35 as the Cavaliers beat the Pistons 116-95 for their 3rd straight win

Connaughton has career-high 43 points as Bucks beat Pistons 140-133 in OT to close regular season