Reggie Hearn is scratching and clawing to prove he belongs with Pistons

LAS VEGAS — There’s a game-used NBA basketball sitting in a trophy room in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It’s protected by a pristine glass case. The date marked on the Spalding is Feb. 5.

The leather memento belongs to Detroit Pistons Summer League guard Reggie Hearn. It was gifted to him by five-time NBA All-Star Blake Griffin following a victory against Portland on that wintry night in Detroit. He shipped it to his hometown for his mother to cherish.

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The 26-year-old Hearn, who has been scrapping in the G League since he left Northwestern in 2013, had never logged a second in a regular-season NBA game until that day. He was with the Pistons on a two-way contract, and with Detroit up by 23 with 2:33 left, he hit the floor. Twenty-four seconds later, he drilled a corner 3 for his first NBA points.

Today, Hearn is fighting for an NBA job. Former Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy — whose brother, Jeff, recommended Hearn after coaching him with the FIBA U.S. men’s national team — is no longer making the decisions. He must impress a new regime in order to create more memories like that one five months ago.

“I feel like every year, really every day, unless you’re a top, upper-echelon superstar, you have to come in and show what you can do and re-prove yourself every day,” Hearn told The Athletic. “This is a ‘What have you done for me lately?’ business.

“Summer League is a place where a lot of young, hungry guys come. So, honestly, I did think there was a little bit more security if Stan was still around, but at the same time, every year I’m used to doing what I can and seeing where the chips fall. It’s no different this summer.”

The Pistons’ main roster is set for the most part, but there’s still another two-way contract to be had. Each NBA team gets two pacts that allow a player to float back and forth between the main roster and the team’s G League affiliate. Late last month, Detroit signed Texas Tech rookie point guard Keenan Evans to one of its two two-way deals. Hearn is hoping for the other.

In the Pistons’ first Las Vegas Summer League game on Friday night — a lopsided 90-63 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks — Hearn couldn’t find his touch. The former Wildcat, who for the last few years has been considered one of the premier 3-point shooters in the G League, connected on just two of his seven attempts from beyond the arc. And as someone who knows why he’s being brought in, Hearn knows, at this stage, there are potential consequences when he’s not performing his duties.

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“I’m known as a 3-point shooter, but if I come out in a couple of games and I’m not hitting, not doing my job, then they may start looking for other guys,” Hearn said.

Hearn arrived in Las Vegas on Monday. The rest of Detroit’s organization had arrived the previous day. Hearn was traveling from Cuba, where he competed with Jeff Van Gundy and Team USA during the third round of FIBA World Cup qualifiers. Three days before that, the team played in Mexico City.

Mentally, there was an adjustment to be made. The extensive traveling and realization that his stop in Las Vegas might dictate his immediate future adds a bit of anxiety. On the court, the FIBA 3-point line is about a foot shorter compared to the NBA arc. The ball is different, too. Hearn said it took a few days to adjust back to NBA standards.

He’ll get his opportunities over the next 11 days to show what he can do. Hearn was one of the first players off the bench for assistant coach Sean Sweeney, who’s calling the shots for the Pistons’ Summer League squad. But this time around, Hearn’s odds of latching on to the organization are longer. New head coach Dwane Casey and senior advisor Ed Stefanski are running the show. The connection that helped him get him his initial opportunity is gone. And Detroit’s new brass added two players in Khyri Thomas and Bruce Brown Jr., who, like Hearn, play on the perimeter.

There’s no sugarcoating the situation.

“To be honest, I came into Summer League not quite knowing what to expect,” Hearn said. “I know we had two new rookies coming in, and a lot of things can be up in the air, especially when you’re playing with guys you never played with before. This is also a new coaching staff. I just tried to come in with ideas and principles that I’ve picked up over the last four or five years. But at the same time, I’m learning the new coaching staff and their principles. I do have the advantage of playing in the professional ranks for the last few years and can understand what they are teaching, but also, it’s a new system and new coaches.”

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Hearn said he and Stan Van Gundy chatted briefly after the Pistons parted ways with the former coach and team president in May. Hearn told Van Gundy that he appreciated the opportunity he gave him, and Van Gundy thanked Hearn for his dedication and said “he’d be watching me going forward.”

Hearn is hopeful it was just the start of his NBA career.

“At the end of the day, once I’m here, I’m here. When I’m not, I’m not,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed my time in Detroit so far. I’d like to contribute to the new regime. But I’ll leave that up to them.”

(Top photo of Blake Griffin and Reggie Hearn by Brian Sevald / NBAE via Getty Images)

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