The Detroit Pistons have officially signed two-way guard Daniss Jenkins to his first NBA standard contract after a breakout season for the franchise. In a corresponding move on Monday, the Pistons waived big man Dario Saric, who had been acquired in a recent trade with the Chicago Bulls.
The move to keep Jenkins through the end of the year — with the deal reportedly including a team option for the 2026-27 season — had been coming for several weeks.
Working primarily as a bench player, Jenkins is averaging 8.2 points and 3.3 assists while shooting 43% from the field and 39% from beyond the arc in his second season in the league.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff and president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon each backed Jenkins as part of the future and anticipated a deal to be struck in time for Monday night’s game against the Charlotte Hornets.
Jenkins hit the two-way contract limit of 50 active games on Friday when he scored a team-high 18 points off the bench in a 118-80 drubbing of the New York Knicks.
In order to make room for Jenkins on the 15-man active roster, the Pistons requested waivers on Saric, who was part of the three-team trade that sent Jaden Ivey to the Bulls and netted Detroit Kevin Huerter and a 2026 first-round pick swap with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It didn’t seem like Saric, 31, was long for the Pistons as he was not with the team for either of their games following the deal.
Since being the 12th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft and earning All-Rookie Team honors in his first season, Saric has jumped around quite a lot in his career.
Stints with the Philadelphia 76ers, Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings preceded a trade to the Bulls on Feb. 1.
Before having the chance to join Chicago, Saric was dealt two days later to the Pistons. The 6-foot-10 Croatian forward has played 522 career games, averaging 10.3 points and 5.3 rebounds