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ORLANDO, Fla. - Detroit Pistons second-year shooting guard Kim English understands the math well.
With agreements earlier this week with Italian star Luigi Datome, point guard Will Bynum and with contracts coming for draft picks Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Tony Mitchell, the Pistons are quickly approaching the roster limit of 15.
And with the Friday deadline for the Pistons to guarantee his contract for next season, English knows the stakes during summer-league play.
English said he isn't worried about something that is beyond his control.
"Just going out and playing," he said after Tuesday's loss to the Thunder. "I don't really take stock in anything other than this quarter or this possession or this game. Everything else is really out of my control.
"I'm a little different than the average human. If I'm playing great or if I'm playing awful, I'm thinking of the next. Next play, next game, that's the nature of the NBA. What you do next is what makes you, how consistently you can do it. I try not to think too much about anything."
Counting the deals Caldwell-Pope and Mitchell will eventually receive, the Pistons roster is at 14.
Point guard Peyton Siva, a second-round pick last month, has been solid, but that doesn't necessarily mean he and English are competing for the last roster spot. The Pistons could choose to leave a spot open.
English, a 2012 second-round pick, has improved his ball-handling. It's apparent he has worked on his game. But he has shot poorly, going 5-for-23 (21.7 percent) in three summer-league games.
English remains confident that even if the Pistons decide to part ways, he will find a landing spot.
"I'm just playing. I think I'll be in this league a long time with my ability to shoot the ball and defend," English said. "I'm just staying in the moment, and I'll keep playing."
Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said Wednesday that no decision has been made on English's status.
- MONEY MATTERS: The salary cap for the 2013-14 season has been set at $58.7 million with the tax threshold at $71.7 million. Dumars said the Pistons are $4 million under the cap.
Free Press Sports Writer Perry A. Farrell contributed to this report.
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