Detroit Pistons Waive John Ukomadu, Brice Williams

Now that the Detroit Pistons have exhausted all four of their preseason games, the Central Division squad is turning their attention to a season opener against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, Oct. 20 but not before making a few roster moves first. 

After the brief exhibition slate, the Pistons announced earlier today that they have elected to waive both Brice Williams and John Ukomadu in lieu of the NBA’s roster limit, which allows room for 15 standard deals and a trio of two-way contracts. If Ukomadu and Williams clear waivers, then the Motown organization will have the opportunity to re-sign the duo to contracts with the Motor City Cruise of the G-League, which is the expected course of action after their cameos with the Pistons. 

During the preseason, neither Ukomadu or Williams had much of an opportunity to showcase their ability during live game situations since head coach J.B. Bickerstaff ran his team with a rotation pattern not too far off from his regular season standard. While the Pistons did mix in their youthful players for the fourth quarter of most games, it was clear that the purpose of preseason was to try out new combinations with those already entrenched in the NBA, so that’s what Bickerstaff did. 

In their preseason opener against the Phoenix Suns, Williams acquitted himself well at the charity stripe by connecting on all three of his free throw attempts, but that summed up his entire exhibition scoring output. As for Ukomadu, the local product chipped in with a pair of triples against the Minnesota Timberwolves for six points during Detroit’s 128-106 victory, but his impact was relegated to garbage time in that matchup. 

In this case, the most important part of their preseason experiences came during training camp since they were involved in the Pistons practices on a daily basis, going toe-to-toe with players ranging from Cade Cunningham to Taurean Prince on the court. Iron sharpens iron, so that competition can only positively impact Ukomadu and Williams moving forward. 

Even though neither player really left their imprint on the preseason with the Pistons, they have both carved out valuable roles on the Cruise, so there is a stark willingness within the organization to keep both Williams and Ukomadu around. Both players were instrumental in Motor City’s playoff charge last season, and they’re slated to receive a lot of playing time in Steve Scalzi’s first season as head coach of the G-League outfit. So, the Pistons are assuredly hoping that both players successfully clear waivers in order to retain their talent before the regular season kicks off.