As expected, the Detroit Pistons added a veteran point guard Monday morning, signing John Lucas III to a 10-day contract.
The Pistons are still in the hunt for an Eastern Conference playoff spot, but the loss of Brandon Jennings left them shorthanded at point guard. D.J. Augustin has played very well in Jennings' absence, including 28 points and 12 assists in Saturday's win over Houston, but Van Gundy was worried about fatigue becoming an issue.
Detroit's only other point guard was rookie Spencer Dinwiddie, who is still behind on his development after a knee injury that cost him most of last season at Colorado and limited him during training camp and the early part of this year.
Lucas, whose father overcame drug problems to have a 14-year NBA career before moving into counseling, coaching and front-office work, has struggled to establish himself at the highest level since being undrafted out of Oklahoma State.
After playing two years with Houston, he spent three years in the D-League, Italy, Spain and China before returning in 2010-11 to play 51 games in two years for the Bulls. He spent one season each with Toronto and Utah, putting up modest numbers in 13-15 minutes a game.
Unable to find an NBA job this year, he went back to China, where he was able to dominate as a 5'11" point guard. In 26 games with the Fujian Sturgeons, he averaged 26.6 points, 7.1 assists and 4.7 rebounds.
He won't put up numbers like that with the Pistons, but that's fine with Van Gundy. He needs Lucas to run the offense for 15 minutes a night and provide a credible 3-point threat. Lucas will probably be signed to a second 10-day contract when this one expires, which will get the Pistons to the trading deadline and the opportunity to make a bigger move.
