The Detroit Pistons had a roster quandary to work through, but the organization was eventually able to strike a deal with Daniss Jenkins.
Before the Detroit Pistons promptly took down the New York Knicks by 38 points on Friday night, the team’s President of Basketball Operations, Trajan Langdon, let the proverbial cat out of the bag.
In a pre-game press conference that wrapped up the NBA’s Trade Deadline, Langdon revealed that the Pistons planned to convert Daniss Jenkins’ two-way contract to a standard NBA deal over the weekend so that he’d be ready to suit up on Monday after using up all 50 of his allotted games.
Now one day before the Pistons are set to take on the Charlotte Hornets on the road, Detroit has agreed to a two-year deal with Jenkins that will allow for the talented floor general to continue playing the rest of the season in the NBA. According to Michael Scotto, Jenkins’ new contract is slated to make him the highest-paid former two-way player in league history with an $8 million total spread across the two seasons of his deal.
As a result, the Pistons have used their bi-annual exception to sign Jenkins, so Detroit will no longer have that option at their disposal for the 2026-27 regular season. Additionally, the Pistons waived Dario Saric in order to make room for Jenkins for the rest of the year.
Given Jenkins’ ability to fit right in with Detroit this season, the young point guard has looked more like a seasoned, steady ball handler on the floor for the Pistons. Entering the season, Detroit was in search of a player to take hold of the backup point guard role, and Jenkins steadily worked his way into that position through a series of impactful performances for the Pistons throughout the first half of the season. Most recently, Jenkins was responsible for an 18-point effort against the Knicks in what turned out to be a comfortable 118-80 victory for the Pistons.
Before Jenkins’ key performance against New York, the former G-Leaguer was given a familiar G-League designation for the Pistons’ game on Thursday night against the Washington Wizards so that he’d be available one day later against the Knicks. Jenkins had counted for 49 games up to that point, so the Pistons had to be frugal about his usage given an important game against the Knicks just one day later.
Although there was merit to the logic behind Jenkins’ absence against Washington, the Pistons’ backup point guard still wanted the opportunity to help his squad in the eventual nine-point loss to the Wizards.
“I was really frustrated yesterday because I didn't get to play,” Jenkins said after beating the Knicks. “I hate missing games, you know? So, I just wanted to come out, and I just wanted to impact the game, you know what I mean?”
Jenkins’ desire to contribute to the Pistons on a nightly basis is evident in both his words and his playing style on the court. Jenkins hustles in transition, closes out when defending on the perimeter and he’s quickly figuring out how to run an offense at the NBA level.
Given his new deal, Jenkins is a shoe-in to play a key role in the Pistons’ season over the next several months, so it was crucial that Detroit could lock down the league’s greatest feel-good story for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign.
For more information on the latest Detroit Pistons team or player news, follow @EricJRutter on X for continued basketball coverage. Also be sure to look up Roundtable - Michigan Men Media on Facebook for continued social media coverage of all the sporting teams in the Mitten.