Detroit Pistons Sign Draft Selections Kentavious Caldwell-Pope And Tony Mitchell
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today that the club has signed draft selections Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Tony Mitchell to contracts. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Caldwell-Pope was drafted by Detroit with the eighth overall selection in the first round of the 2013 NBA Draft. In five games during the 2013 NBA Summer League in Orlando, he averaged 13.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.8 steals in 28.6 minutes per game. The 6-foot-6 guard from the University of Georgia averaged a SEC-leading 18.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.0 steals in 32 games as a sophomore last season. The 2012-13 SEC Player of the Year and an All-SEC First Team selection was one of only nine players in NCAA Division 1 to score in double figures in every game last season. Caldwell-Pope led the Bulldogs in rebounds (7.1 rpg), was third in the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (37.3) and recorded seven double-doubles. In his final collegiate game against LSU in the SEC Tournament, Caldwell-Pope scored a career-high 32 points, including 25 in the second half.
Mitchell was drafted by Detroit with the 37th pick in the second round. He compiled averages of 7.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 25.4 minutes in five games during the 2013 NBA Summer League. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 13.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.9 blocks in 55 games at the University of North Texas. Last season he averaged 13.0 and 8.5 rebounds in 32 games while leading the Sun Belt Conference with 2.7 blocks per game. During his first year at North Texas, he was one of only two freshmen in the NCAA to average a double-double joining Kentucky's Anthony Davis, the #1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft. A member of the gold-medal winning 2010 USA Men's U-18 at the 2010 FIBA Americas U-18 Championship, he finished his collegiate career as North Texas' all-time leader in blocks (157).
