Steven Crowl’s run with the Detroit Pistons ended with a blunt message: no minutes, no chance, and a “coach’s decision” tag in the final NBA Summer League game.
For the former Badger, that had to sting. Crowl had been seeing more court time as the summer went on, only for that momentum to disappear when the Pistons sat him in the finale. He was the only Detroit summer league player who didn’t get on the floor.
That outcome makes the next step in his career look a lot clearer. Crowl spent all of last season as a rotational G-League player with the Salt Lake City Stars, the Utah Jazz’s affiliate, and nothing from that stretch suggested an NBA contract was right around the corner. His best shot was always going to come from making noise in Vegas, but his summer league showing was uneven, and he would have needed to really stand out to earn more than an invite.
Instead, the Pistons’ decision points him toward a different path. That doesn’t mean his professional career is in trouble. It just means the NBA may no longer be the best place to look for his next opportunity.
There should be plenty of interest overseas. The highest-level options would likely be the NBL in Australia and the EuroLeague, both of which make sense for a fringe NBA player trying to carve out a bigger role and better money. The NBL has a history of bringing in plenty of former Big Ten players, and there’s already some speculation about the EuroLeague from a Greek basketball account on X.
Other routes are out there, too. Crowl could land in lower-level leagues across Europe, and Belgium is one possibility after Max Klesmit, who played with Crowl on the Salt Lake City Stars last season, signed last month with the Kangoeroes from the BNXT League.
Asia is another lane, including China, which has often been a destination for big men who can stretch the floor in the CBA.
So the options are real. The bigger question is timing.
Does Crowl keep pushing for another NBA look, or does he start leaning into an international move now and wait to see if a training camp invite comes along? The Pistons’ final answer certainly didn’t help his case.
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Nick Boyd Suddenly Faces A Brutal NBA Crossroads After Warriors Run
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Now Boyd is left waiting on what comes next, and the path is not especially clear. If the Warriors do not keep him in the mix, he could be pushed to look beyond the usual G League route and weigh overseas opportunities, where a league like the NBL could offer a more direct next step. For a player trying to convert a brief summer audition into a real professional foothold, the margin between staying in the NBA orbit and moving on is suddenly pretty thin. [Read more 🡒]