The Motor City Auto Project

I have been getting back into the hobby recently and have been stalking the basketball part of the forum for a few months now and just enjoying the awesomeness that everyone has been posting in the "show something off" thread. So I thought how can I get involved and feel a part of it? I don't really have the budget to buying massive cards or packs (in this market anyway) so after some thought I came up with...

The Motor City Auto Project

The goal of the project is pretty simple. Obtain an auto for every Pistons player I can with a couple of rules:

1. It must be a Detroit Pistons card
2. The player, if in uniform, must be in a Detroit Pistons uniform.
3. The player must have played for or been on the roster for the Pistons

Obviously this isn't going to be the thread for you if you are looking for insanely rare or amazing looking cards, but hopefully you enjoy it and if not, just humour me please ).

The aim is to acquire a card weekly but we'll see how we go...

MCAP Auto #1 - Khyri Thomas
2018-19 Panini Court Kings - Heir Apparent 06/99


Khyri played his college ball at Creighton and was twice named Big East Defensive Player of the Year. He entered the 2018 NBA Draft, forgoing his Senior year and was drafted with the 38th pick by the Pistons after Detroit reached a deal to send 2 future second round picks to Philadelphia.

In his Rookie season he made 26 appearances off the bench averaging 2.3 PPG and featured three times as the Pistons were swept out of the Playoffs by the Bucks in the 1st Round.

He made a further 8 appearances for Detroit the following season before being traded to Atlanta along with Tony Snell. He was instantly waived.

After being signed & waived by the Spurs without playing, he signed a 10-day contract with Houston in May of this season and in his 5 appearances for the Rockets has averaged 16.4 points & 5 assists per game. He has since signed a multi-year deal with the Rockets. Watch this space...

Good luck with the challenge and I eagerly await more arrivals.

Love the idea and concept mate, not everything has to be Luka, Tatum or Lebron...coming from a guy who has the world's best Quincy Pondexter PC!

I have a few loer end Pistons autos which meet your requirements that I can do a good lot price on, just shoot me a PM if interested.

MCAP Auto #2 - Zaza Pachulia
2018-19 Panini National Treasures - Colossal Material Autographs 26/99


Georgian giant Zaza Pachulia started his professional basketball career in Turkey with Ülkerspor at the age of just 14. Five years later he found himself being drafted by the Orlando Magic with the 42nd pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. After spending the season coming off the bench for the 21 win Magic, he was selected in the 2004 Expansion Draft by the Charlotte Bobcats and was traded to Milwaukee for a 2nd round pick.

Similar to his season in Orlando, his year on the Bucks was spent coming off the bench for a poor side, however as a free agent he signed a deal with Atlanta to become their starting C on a 4yr/$16m deal. His first two years in Atlanta were career years, averaging 11-12ppg & 7-8rpg, however midway through his 2nd season he moved back to coming off the bench. In 2009, he re-signed with the Hawks for another 4 years, earning $19m total as the club were becoming a contender in the East, however they could never make it past the Conference Semi-Finals.

In 2013 he signed as a free agent with Milwaukee (3yr/$15.6m) and once again found himself starting. During the last year of his deal he found himself traded to Dallas for a 2nd round pick. During his time with the Mavericks he famously almost become an All Star Starter but missed out by approximately 14,000 votes despite a pedestrian 8.6ppg & 9.4rpg.

For the 2016/17 season he joined Golden State in the middle of their modern dynasty and was infamously involved in the injury of Kawhi Leonard in Game 1 on the Western Conference Finals, which ruled the Spurs star out of the rest of the series, as the Warriors progressed to win the Championship. It was not an isolated incident however, as Zaza had a reputation of being one of the dirtiest players in the league.

He re-signed with Golden State for the following year as the Warriors went back-to-back however his role in the side continued to diminish.

He joined the Pistons for his final NBA season as backup to Andre Drummond. During his time in Detroit he made 68 appearances, averaging 3.9 points & rebounds per game, below his career average of 6.8 & 5.8 respectively.

Zaza is now a front office consultant for Golden State in their basketball operations department.

Forgot that the big fella even suited up for Detroit! I guess that;s the beauty of a project liek this.... Keep these posts coming mate!

Love the write ups on these. Cool stuff mate.

Love this thread if I have some lying around I'll send them to you

Jessica said:

Love this thread if I have some lying around I'll send them to you

Click to expand...

That’d be amazing Jessica. Thanks for the kind words. Let me know if I can do anything to help you out with anything.

MCAP Auto #3 - Jonas Jerebko
2009-10 Panini Crown Royale 601/699


Next up we have the Swede, Jonas Jerebko. One of my favourite Pistons of the past decade.

Jerebko (aged 18) originally intended to play college ball for the University of Buffalo, however ended up turning professional instead. Plying his trade in Sweden for two seasons, before moving to Italy for a further two.

He entered the 2009 NBA Draft and was considered by ESPN's European basketball expert Fran Fraschilla as a top 5 European prospect. The Pistons ended up taking Jerebko in the second round with the 39th pick, becoming the second Swedish player to be selected in an NBA Draft.

Jonas had a very good Rookie season for a 2nd round pick, starting 73 games for the Pistons (playing 80 overall) which was the 2nd most in franchise history for a Rookie (now 3rd) behind Kelly Tripuka who started every game in 1981-82. Jerebko became a fan favourite for his energy & hustle, averaging 9.3 points, 6 rebounds and 1 steal per game. He was selected as a member of the Rookie Team at NBA All Star Weekend and made the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

Unfortunately, this was as good as it got for Jonas. He injured his Achilles the following pre-season and missed the entire 2010-11 season as a result. Despite coming off a lost season, he started the first 13 games of the new season before being shuffled to a role off the bench, which ultimately would be his role for the rest of his career in the Association. The Pistons signed him to a 4 year, $18m contract and he continued to maintain his production (on a per 36 minute basis) coming off the bench.

In February 2015, the Pistons traded him to Boston along with Luigi Datome (more on him another time) for Tayshaun Prince as a part of the deal that saw the Celtics acquire Isiah Thomas. Jerebko had a decent end to the season with the Celtics which resulted to him signing for a further 2 years, $10m. He continued to come off the bench as the Celtics went to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2016-17 season, ultimately being eliminated by the Cavs.

He signed a multi-year deal with the Utah Jazz for the 2017-18 season and despite starting the most games in his career since his Rookie season, he was waived at the end of the first year as the Jazz were eliminated in the Western Conference Semi-Finals by Houston.

Jerebko signed with the Golden State Warriors for the 2018-19 season and got instant revenge over the Jazz with an early season, tip in winner. In his last season in the NBA, Jonas went all the way to the NBA Finals with the Warriors but injuries to star players crushed their chances as the Raptors caused an upset.

He spent the last 2 and a bit years with Russian side Khimki Moscow where he was reunited with ex-Pistons teammate Greg Monroe until they were both released in early 2021 due to a poor record.

Jerebko is the owner of the Esports organisation the "Renegades".

He averaged 6.2 ppg & 4 rpg during his time in the NBA.

MCAP Auto #4 - Jerome Williams
1998-99 SP Authentic - Sign of the Times Bronze

The Pistons drafted Williams as a Sophomore out of Georgetown with the 26th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft (acquired from the Spurs as a part of the Dennis Rodman trade). Nicknamed the Junk Yard Dog or JYD by Rick Mahorn for his hustle & hard work, it was these qualities that endeared him to the fanbases of wherever he played.

Coming off the bench, Williams improved in each of his 4 full seasons with the Pistons, eventually becoming their 6th man and in the 1999/00 season averaged 8.4 ppg, 9.6 rpg, & 1.2 spg. His season rebounding numbers remain as some of the best in league history for a non-starter.

The following season JYD was traded to Toronto along with Eric Montross in exchange for Corliss Williamson, Tyrone Corbin, Dávid Kornél and a future first-round draft pick. North of the border, he enjoyed his best season in 2002/03 averaging 9.7 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.3 apg & 1.6 spg as a starter for the Raps. For the second time in his career, after producing his best numbers, he was traded the following season. This time to Chicago, along with Antonio Davis & Chris Jefferies for Jalen Rose, Donyell Marshall & Lonny Baxter.

Williams spent one season in the Windy City before being traded in the off-season to the Knicks with Jamal Crawford, which saw him once again settle into a role off the bench. After one season, the Knicks waived Williams to avoid paying the luxury tax and he subsequently announced his retirement in the following days.

Post-NBA career, Williams has remained involved in basketball via youth development & community involvement including the Basketball Without Borders program and played in the inaugural BIG3 season.

During his time in Toronto he appeared in the Disney film "Full-Court Miracle" (5.8 on IMDB.com).

JYD averaged 6.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg & 1.1 spg during his 9 seasons in the Association.

MCAP Auto #5 - Luke Kennard
2017-18 Panini Court Kings - Fresh Paint I

Next up, one of my favourite NBA nicknames; The Narddog!


Kennard was a star high school basketballer in his native Ohio. He was named Parade National Player of the Year as well as Ohio Gatorade Basketball Player of the Year as a Junior and Senior and a McDonald's All American in 2015. He finished his high school career with the 2nd most points in Ohio history, ahead of King James himself!

Coming out of high school he was one of the most sought after recruits in the nation, ranking 24th in his recruiting class by ESPN. Electing to choose a life of evil & hatred he elected to attend Duke University and as a freshman averaged just under 12 points per game.

In his Sophomore season as a Blue Devil, Kennard deadly jumpshot saw him average 43.8% from deep on the way to averaging 19.5 points, 5.1 rebounds & 2.5 assists per game and becoming 1st Team All-ACC, 2nd Team All-American. He was named the ACC Tournament MVP as Duke won the final against Notre Dame, however he would not leave Blue Devils on a happy note. He struggled from the field and fouled out in Duke's 2nd Round loss to South Carolina in the NCAA Tournament. He then went onto join teammates Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles & Frank Jackson in declaring for the NBA Draft.

On Draft night, Kennard became a Piston, selected at #12 in the 2017 NBA Draft (unfortunately for Pistons fans NBA All-Stars Donovan Mitchell & Bam Adebayo would be taken with the next two selections). Like most mid-range first round picks he featured regularly off the bench for Detroit in his first two seasons, averaging 7.6 ppg & 9.7 ppg respectively.

In his third season in the Motor City, Kennard moved into the starting line-up and looked to be developing nicely. He averaged 15.8ppg, 4.1apg and 2.6rpg in 28 games before knee tendonitis and COVID-19 ended his season early.

With a new GM in Troy Weaver, Detroit looked to clear house and traded Kennard in a three team trade to the Clippers with the most notable return being a first round draft pick that turned into Saddiq Bey.

Upon becoming a Clipper, Kennard signed a 4 year, $64m deal as the Clippers looked to space the floor and add shooting to support All-Stars Kawhi Leonard & Paul George. Unfortunately Luke's first year in Los Angeles was a rocky one. Despite hitting a career best 44.6% of his 3 point attempts, he was dropped as a starter and played the least minutes of his NBA career thus far. In the Playoffs, an impressive series against Utah was bookended with disappointing output against Dallas & Phoenix as the Clippers lost in the Western Conference Finals.

MCAP Auto #6 - Kim English
2012-13 Panini Innovation - Rookie Innovative Ink

Kim grew up in Baltimore and played high school ball at Randallstown High School. In his senior year he was named MVP as the school went on to win their 3rd consecutive championship and committed to joining the University of Missouri in 2007.

At Mizzou as a senior he averaged 14.5 ppg whilst shooting 46% behind the arc as he earned Third Team All Big 12 honours for the 2nd time (first time as a sophomore). He led the squad to the Big 12 Tournament Championship on the back of 23 ppg and 78% shooting as he was named the tournaments Most Outstanding Player. He left the program, along with 2 of his teammates tied for the most wins in program history with 107 over his 4 years.

English was drafted by the Pistons with the 44th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. He spent one year in Detroit, making 41 appearances off the bench averaging just under 3 points in 10 minutes per game before being waived at the end of the season.

He spent 2013-14 with clubs in Italy & France. Ahead of the 2014 NBA season he played NBA Summer League with Orlando, before being signed by Chicago but was waived before the start of the season. He returned to France before ending his career in 2015 in Venezuela.

Since retirement, English has spent time in college hoops as an assistant with Tulsa, Colorado & Tennessee. As of this year he has just been named head coach of George Mason University.

Hornso said:

I have been getting back into the hobby recently and have been stalking the basketball part of the forum for a few months now and just enjoying the awesomeness that everyone has been posting in the "show something off" thread. So I thought how can I get involved and feel a part of it? I don't really have the budget to buying massive cards or packs (in this market anyway) so after some thought I came up with...

The Motor City Auto Project
aka. The Anti-Zodiac Collection

The goal of the project is pretty simple. Obtain an auto for every Pistons player I can with a couple of rules:

1. It must be a Detroit Pistons card
2. The player, if in uniform, must be in a Detroit Pistons uniform.
3. The player must have played for or been drafted by the Pistons

Obviously this isn't going to be the thread for you if you are looking for insanely rare or amazing looking cards (hence the aka. The Anti-Zodiac Collection), but hopefully you enjoy it and if not, just humour me please ).

The aim is to acquire a card weekly but we'll see how we go...

Click to expand...

Good work mate I just started to collect and am doing the same thing with the Knicks.

Next up, a man who is known in NBA circles for all the wrong reasons...

MCAP Auto #7 - Brandon Knight
2012-13 Panini Limited 030/299


Miami born Brandon Knight attended high school at Pine Crest in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. An outstanding high school prospect he averaged 31.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 5.6 apg and 3.2 spg as a junior. The following year as a senior he averaged 32.5 ppg, 8.6 rpg and 4 apg en route to winning back to back Gatorade National Player of the Year awards and Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year in 2010.

After a stellar high school career he was ranked the 6th best prospect in the country and elected to attend the University of Kentucky. Knight had a successful freshman year averaging 17.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 4.2 apg whilst setting Kentucky freshman records in points scored, 3 pointers made and 20 point games. As a result he was named First-Team All-SEC by the coaches. Knight led the Wildcats throughout the NCAA Tournament as they made it to the Final Four before losing to eventual champions, Kemba Walker & his Connecticut team by a point. Along the way he was named the NCAA's East Region All-Tournament Most Outstanding Player and with his stock high, nominated for the 2011 NBA Draft.

The Detroit Pistons selected Knight with the 8th pick in the draft, one spot ahead of Kemba Walker and other future NBA All Stars such Klay Thompson (11), Kawhi Leonard (15), Nikola Vucevic (16), Jimmy Butler (30) & Isaiah Thomas (60). Knight quickly became the starting point guard for the Pistons in his rookie year averaging just under 13 ppg and 4 apg and was the first Pistons rookie since Grant Hill to be named NBA All-Rookie 1st team.

Despite having a steady sophomore season Knight would become memorable for being the victim to some of the season's most memorable highlights. Firstly at All Star Weekend, the #1 pick of Knight's Draft class, Kyrie Irving would savagely break his ankles in the Rising Stars Challenge game.


Less than a month later #RIPBrandonKnight would trend on Twitter as he unsuccessfully challenged a DeAndre Jordan alley oop dunk with humiliating consequences.


At the end of his 2nd season, the Pistons decided they needed to upgrade the point guard position and traded Knight along with little known players Khris Middleton(!!!) & Viacheslav Kravtsov (keep an eye out for him in the near future) to the Bucks for Brandon Jennings. Knight continued to improve in Milwaukee and averaged just under 18 ppg and 5 apg in his 1.5 seasons there, but he was traded to Phoenix at the All Star break in a 3 team deal that netted the Bucks Michael Carter-Williams.

After the All Star break he had limited time on the court with the Suns due to injuries, however that didn't stop them from giving Knight a 5 year $70m deal and he rewarded them by averaging just under 20 ppg. During his first full season in Phoenix he became just the 4th player in NBA history to put up a line of 30 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds & 4 steals joining Magic Johnson, Pete Maravich & Russell Westbrook, but Knight started to have injury concerns and played just over 50 games. The following season he was relegated to the bench and became the Suns 6th man which saw his production drop before being shut down for the 2nd half of the season despite being healthy.

In the off-season, disaster struck as Knight tore his ACL and as a result would miss the 2017-18 season. He was then traded to the Rockets but missed the start of the season as his knee became infected. He would only make 12 appearances for Houston before being traded to Cleveland and became the Cavs starting point guard, however in just under 23 minutes he would only manage to put up an average of 8.5 ppg and 2.3 apg. The following season, he would once again be relegated to limited appearances, coming off the bench until he was traded back to Detroit in the deal which netted the Cavs Andre Drummond.

Knight would only make a further 9 appearances for the Pistons, however would finish strong averaging 11.6 ppg & 4.2 apg in that short spell. At the end of the 2019-20 season, Knight was released by Detroit with his 5 year deal finally at an end. He continues to try and get back into the league at the age of 29. In March at this year he had a trial in Milwaukee and was a member of Brooklyn's 2021 Summer League squad.

To date his career averages are 14.1 points per game, 4 assists per game and 3.1 rebounds per game.

Woolums23 said:

Good work mate I just started to collect and am doing the same thing with the Knicks.

Click to expand...

Cheers, make sure you put your collection up on here as I and I'm sure others will be keen to see it grow!

MCAP Auto #8 - Henry Ellenson
2016-17 Panini Noir - Rookie Patch Autographs Color 44/75

A member of the winning United States team for the 2014 FIBA U/17 World Championship, Henry Ellenson played college ball at Marquette, where he averaged 17 points and 9.7 rebounds per game his freshman year on the way to All-Big East First Team and Big East Freshman of the Year honours.
On the back of this success he nominated for the 2016 NBA Draft and was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 18th pick.

The 6'10" big man saw limited little of the court in his rookie season featuring only 19 times, averaging 3.2 ppg & 2.2 rpg in just under 8 minutes per game. The following season he appeared in twice as many games (38) but his statistics and court time remained at a similar level despite a promising performances in the opening week of the season. Fighting veterans Tobias Harris, Jon Leuer and Anthony Tolliver for playing time at Power Forward, Ellenson's inability on the defensive end saw him fall down the pecking order as the season progressed.

In his third season with Detroit, Ellenson had only made two appearances when he was waived in February 2019 and after 10 days was signed by the New York Knicks to a 10 day contract, eventually signing for the rest of the season, averaging 6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 13.8 minutes in his 17 appearances.

Prior to the 2019-20 season, he signed with Brooklyn on a two-way contract, but was waived after only 5 appearances and 15 minutes total. He was subsequently involved in a sign and trade with Brooklyn's G League team (Long Island Nets) to Toronto's G League team (Raptors 905) where he impressed enough to earn a deal with the Raptors in November 2020, however he was waived in December. The Raptors once again signed him to another 10 day contract in March 2021 where he got a chance to impress, playing two games in as many days and getting around 20 minutes each night. Despite averaging 7.5 ppg, 6rpg and 2.5 assists, Toronto had seen enough and didn't pick him up.

In July 2021, Ellenson signed with Monbus Obradoiro in Spain.

His NBA careers stands as follows:
83 games, 9.5 minutes per game, 4.1 points per game, 2.5 rebounds per game, 37.1% from the field, 33.6% from beyond the arc.

MCAP Auto #9 - Tony Mitchell
2013-14 Panini Totally Certified - Future Stars Signatures 262/325

2013-14 Panini Gold Standard

The victim of an eligibility stuff up, Mitchell who had declared for Missouri, was forced to sit out his first semester of his freshman year and it wasn't until the second semester until he found out he would never be able to play Mizzou. Forced to choose between 2 years of junior college ball or play for a different college as a partial qualifier, Mitchell elected the latter, choosing to play at North Texas.

After sitting out the 2010–11 season due to his eligibility issues, Mitchell was named by CBS Sports as one of the "top 10 freshmen in the country" and their third-best "under the radar" player after averaging 14.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Along with Kentucky's Anthony Davis, he was one of only two freshmen in NCAA Division I to average a double-double. Despite being projected as a first round draft pick, Mitchell elected to stay at North Texas for his sophomore season as he "still needed to mature on and off the court". Labelled "the most athletic guy in college basketball" Mitchell saw his stats regress in his second season and he declared for the NBA Draft with his first round prospects having taken a hit.

The Pistons selected Mitchell with the 37th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, becoming the first player to be selected from North Texas since 1984, however minutes were hard to come by as he managed only 79 minutes in 21 appearances averaging 1 point per game and 1.2 rebounds per game.

In his second season Mitchell was traded by the Pistons on Christmas Eve to the Phoenix Suns for Anthony Tolliver. Mitchell was then waived by the Suns after spending a bit over 2 weeks with the organisation without making an appearance. Mitchell then headed to Puerto Rico to ply his services.

Mitchell was then signed by the Golden State Warriors ahead of the 2015-16 season but was once again waived a few weeks later. At which point Mitchell recommenced his international basketball tour. To this day he continues to play having played in Venezuela (twice), China, Israel (twice), the Philippines (twice), the Dominican Republic, the UAE and most recently returning to Puerto Rico.

I'm loving this thread and how much time you take to tell us about each players career. Keep it up