The Detroit Pistons announced that Marvin Bagley III suffered an injury to his right knee on Tuesday night during their preseason game vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Bagley needed to be helped off the court and to the locker room. It appeared that Bagley slipped, perhaps on a wet spot on the court, and the way he went down did not look good.
Bagley will undergo an MRI on his right knee, per Chris Haynes. Bagley’s career just hasn’t gone well, and a serious knee injury is the last thing he needs as he aims for a new start with the Pistons, who, somewhat perplexingly, game him a three-year, $37 million contract extension this past summer after trading for him from Sacramento last February.
Bagley played just 18 games for Detroit after the trade, starting eight. In 27 minutes a night, he averaged 14.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, but those numbers are deceiving. They were meaningless games, and Bagley looked more or less like the same flawed player (bad shooter and worse defender) that he was with the Kings.
Two-big lineups with Bagley become very cramped for spacing. One smart thing the Pistons did with him was play him at the five and closer to the basket. He trimmed his 3-point attempts and traded them in for paint looks, which is really the only spot from which he’s a threat to score.
The Pistons start their regular season against the Orlando Magic next Wednesday.