Injured Pistons seek more help from former second-round pick

Detroit Pistons guard Jaylen Nowell (20)

The Pistons will re-sign Jaylen Nowell to a second hardship contract following the expiration of his first 10-day deal, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Nowell’s initial contract will expire after Friday’s game, so Detroit figures to re-sign Nowell on either Saturday or Sunday before Sunday’s regular-season finale. Since it will be completed using a hardship exception, the deal will technically be considered a 10-day contract, but it will expire immediately after Sunday’s game.

A 24-year-old shooting guard who spent his first four NBA seasons with the Timberwolves from 2019-23, Nowell was on a pair of 10-day contracts with the Grizzlies earlier in the season but has spent most of the year out of the NBA. He has performed well for the Pistons since signing with the team last week, averaging 8.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game and making 57.9% of his field goal attempts across three appearances off the bench.

The Pistons qualified for a hardship exception because four players (Isaiah Stewart, Ausar Thompson, Quentin Grimes, and Stanley Umude) are out for the season. That allows them to carry an extra player beyond the 15 on their standard roster, but they won’t have any form of Bird rights on Nowell this offseason as long as he’s signed to a hardship contract and not a standard deal.

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