Pistons sign Daniss Jenkins to two-year standard contract.
· Yahoo Sports
Daniss Jenkins has earned a long-awaited promotion.
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Jenkins was reportedly upgraded from a two-way contract to the Detroit Pistons' 15-man roster on Sunday, Feb. 8, signing a two-year standard contract, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to the Free Press. Terms of the contract are unknown, though it features a team option for 2026-27 and uses part of the Pistons' $11.3 million bi-annual exception.
ESPN's Shams Charania was first to report the deal.
It has long been expected Jenkins would be bumped to the main roster, as he has established himself as a core piece with the NBA's second-best team.
Two-way players can only be active for 50 regular-season games and aren't postseason-eligible.
Jenkins, 24, has been active in 50 of the Pistons' 51 regular-season games this season − the team sat him Thursday against Washington, missing an upset loss, to preserve his eligibility Friday against New York, where he poured in 18 points off the bench in a 118-80 statement victory.
“I was really frustrated yesterday because I didn’t get to play,” Jenkins said Friday postgame. “I hate missing games. I just wanted to come out and impact the game. ... It was definitely not a game that we should have lost. I just wanted to come out and impact the game like I always do. Just change the energy.”
Jenkins, undrafted out of St. John's in 2024, is averaging 8.2 points, 3.3 assists and 0.9 steals while shooting 39.1% from 3 (43-for-110) in 16.8 minutes per game.
“If I’m being honest, and everybody knows I’m a very humble guy, but in college, most of these dudes that got drafted, what was the difference between me and them?” he asked, rhetorically. “What? You tell me, what was the difference? For me, going undrafted is insanity to me, literally insanity, and that burns inside of me every single day.”
Jenkins' advancement made former No. 5 overall pick Jaden Ivey expandable; Ivey was dealt to Chicago on Tuesday.
Jenkins has been key to the 38-13 Pistons' success this season, earning a rotation spot early after knee surgery sidelined Ivey through the first month. Jenkins impressed the front office with two strong summer league showings over the past two years and a successful season with the Motor City Cruise in 2024-25.
“Had a great camp and he’s just continued his trajectory in getting better," Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said Friday before the Knicks game. "When the opportunities come he’s taken advantage of it.”
Ausar Thompson realized Jenkins was an NBA player last spring when Jenkins played the role of Knicks star Jalen Brunson role on the scout team during practices.
“I was guarding him, had to pick him up full-court, and he was just running super fast,” Thompson said Friday night. “I was like, ‘It’s more like a John Wall scout.’ That’s the moment that stuck with me that I will never forget, because I was like ‘Whoa, this guy is fast.’”
The Dallas native played for three colleges and one junior college, beginning his career at Pacific before transferring to Odessa College near his hometown. It was in the JUCO ranks that he was recruited by legendary college coach Rick Pitino, who signed him to Iona and then convinced him to join him at St. John's a season later.
"Being undrafted, you obviously want to work to get that first contract, get to that standard contract," Jenkins said Jan. 30. "I’ve been said I belong in this league a long time ago when I did my first summer league, and I knew it would come true. I just needed an opportunity and that’s what this organization gave me."
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky and/or X @omarisankofa.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Daniss Jenkins signs two-year contract with Detroit Pistons