Boban still waiting to be unleashed in Detroit

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Milica Marjanovic misses the Mexican food, but her husband is not nearly as particular about cuisine. Boban Marjanovic likes to say “if it’s on the table, (he) will eat it,” and few people ever have doubted him.

Earlier this month, steaks were on the table, and the Detroit Pistons’ second-year center could not have been happier. Surrounded by players and staffers from the Spurs, Marjanovic regaled his old friends with stories of his new life in the Midwest, including the gripping tale of how he got caught driving too fast through the ice and snow, but somehow convinced a policeman not to give him a ticket.

“I guess the guy saw the size of his hands,” Spurs guard Danny Green said. “So he decided to let him go.”

Last summer, the Spurs’ choice to let Marjanovic get away was not nearly as simple. They were mesmerized by the 7-foot-3 Serbian’s potential, intrigued by his skill set and enchanted by his personality. But they also were faced with reduced salary-cap flexibility, and could not afford to match the Pistons’ offer of $21 million over three years.

Now, 4,800 miles from home and 1,500 miles from where his NBA career began, Marjanovic finds himself in a familiar position. On one absurdly large hand, he said he has to remind himself every day that his life in the NBA is real, and “not a dream.” On the other, he still finds himself spending most nights on the end of the bench.

Despite the Pistons’ financial investment in Marjanovic, they have not found much use for him. He has appeared in fewer than half of Detroit’s games, and even when he sees action he is averaging fewer minutes (6.9 per game) than he did in San Antonio (9.4 per game).

“I cannot lie now and say I expected it to be this,” Marjanovic said. “Everybody wants to play more, expects to play more. But I am being professional.”

Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy, like the Spurs’ Gregg Popovich before him, is discovering he does not know quite what to do with a massive center who all of the analytics-based data suggest should get regular minutes.

A few years ago, the NBA released a statistics platform that included a formula called “player impact estimate,” or PIE. The goal of the stat was to combine a wide array of information and create one number to summarize a player’s overall contributions.

According to PIE, the Spurs’ list of top performers last year looked about how you would expect. Tim Duncan was fourth, LaMarcus Aldridge was third, and Kawhi Leonard, with a PIE of 17.0, was second.

But Marjanovic, at 18.1, led them all. Popovich did not trust the numbers nearly as much as his eyes.

This year, the same thing is happening in Detroit. According to PIE, Marjanovic is the Pistons’ best player, right ahead of Andre Drummond. Still, he sits.

“I’m sure it’s tough for him,” said Spurs guard Patty Mills, another foreign-born player who had to wait a few years to find a regular role on an NBA team. “But obviously he’s making some pretty nice coin.”

To be sure, Marjanovic is not complaining about his lot in life. And he continues to be grateful for all of the support he has received from his old teammates, with whom he still keeps in regular contact.

“They helped me not just about basketball stuff,” Marjanovic said. “It was other stuff. Advice on everything. Travel. Life decisions. How to be in the NBA.”

Green, who posted a picture of the Spurs’ steak-house reunion with Marjanovic on social media, said the team can’t help but love him.

“He’s the definition of a gentle giant,” Green said. “So thoughtful, so positive. Everyone is drawn to him.”

Before a recent game at the Palace of Auburn Hills, it was apparent Marjanovic has plenty of new admirers, too. Although every Pistons player heard shouts from fans reaching for autographs, few caused a bigger stir than Marjanovic did — and few signed more signatures.

“What I left in San Antonio was amazing — people cheering my name,” Marjanovic said. “But I move here, and people cheer my name the same.”

What he would like is to hear those cheers celebrating a basket, rebound or blocked shot during a pivotal moment of a big game. He remains confident it will happen someday.

“I work more because I expect more playing time,” Marjanovic said. “I work more because I want to be better. I work more because I want to help my team. I work more because I want to improve myself. I want to be like what I dreamed.”