Former No. 2 pick Hasheem Thabeet cut by Pistons

Like Michael Beasley weeks before him, Hasheem Thabeet may be the latest No. 2 overall pick to bust out of the NBA in short order.

On Monday, the Detroit Pistons released Thabeet and three other players from their training camp rosters. This is par for the course this week as teams trim their rosters to 15 players or fewer, but Thabeet's release is obviously notable considering his former prospect perch.

Taken second overall out of Connecticut by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2009, the 7-foot-3 Tanzanian never found his stride as an NBA player, despite strong block rates and decent rim protection numbers in small samples. 

He was traded to Houston in 2011 as part of a trade headlined by Shane Battier, and was later sent to Portland for as part of a package for Marcus Camby in 2012. The Oklahoma City Thunder nabbed him as a free agent in 2012, unloading his nonguaranteed contract on the Philadelphia 76ers to create a small trade exception for later use.

After the 76ers waived him, Thabeet appeared set to compete for a reserve center spot with a Pistons squad that could, on paper, use the body. But with a roster crunch coming and Joel Anthony acquired last week, his size became superfluous. Thabeet appeared in just one preseason game, registering nothing but a missed field goal attempt in five minutes.

Over five seasons in the league, Thabeet has averaged 2.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks while shooting 56.7 percent. Despite the shooting percentage, his teams have been 5.2 points per-100 possessions better without him over his career, thanks primarily to a total lack of offensive game.

Based on his size and name value, it's possible a team in need of some back-end rim protection takes a flier on him, but he's really shown little as a pro and is already 27 years old. Great sense of style, though.