NBA
Pachulia Signs A One-Year Contract With Detroit
Golden State Warriors center Zaza Pachulia has agreed to a one-year, $2.4 million deal with the Detroit Pistons. Detroit innovated the bad boy mentality and have now added a bad boy with Pachulia. This is a very sound fiscal deal for the Pistons allowing them to pay him the minimum. It’s a big cap-tax saving along with added experience to their roster.
Pistons fans love to have “bad boys” on board, and he definitely fits that bill. Plenty of NBA fans label him as a “dirty player.” The NBA named an already instated rule after what many believe was an intentionally dirty play against Kawhi Leonard in Game 1 of the 2017 Western Conference Finals. He’s a seasoned veteran with two championships on his resume.
This move also allows him to give current Pistons star center Andre Drummond valuable tips and insights. Drummond is their franchise player, and with the addition of Pachulia coming off the bench, it could be just what Pistons fans want. It’ll be interesting indeed to see how new head coach Dwane Casey utilizes him this upcoming season.
Warriors free agent Zaza Pachulia has agreed to a one-year, $2.4M deal with the Detroit Pistons, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 8, 2018
The Pachulia Effect
The NBA named an already instated rule as the Pachulia Effect during an incident in Game 1 of the 2017 Western Conference Finals. Pachulia had invaded the space for Kawhi Leonard’s jump shot and caused Leonard to re-injure himself. The rule specifies that a player can not move into another player while attempting a jumpshot.
If a player is airborne then there should be space for that player to land safely without getting injured. The rule will allow NBA officials to call technical or flagrant fouls if a player violates the rule. All things considered, Dwane Casey will have many options available with this big man player rotation, including Zaza Pachulia and Andre Drummond.
