Aaron Gray retires due to blood clot in heart, will join Pistons' staff

When a door closed for Aaron Gray, a window flew open.

The 7-foot center told the Detroit Free Press on Friday that he's retired from active play due to a blood clot that was discovered in his heart last summer.

The seven-year veteran had signed with the Detroit Pistons last summer in one of Stan Van Gundy's first moves as team president. Gray then had a cardiac episode in August, which prevented him from joining the team in training camp or the preseason. The discovery of the blood clot in his heart may have prevented him from a more serious issue had he continued playing through it.

Gray would ultimately be waived shortly before the start of the season, and the Pistons used the stretch provision to spread his cap hit out through 2018. He'll now join the team's staff to help work with young center Andre Drummond and the team's D-League affiliate.

"I'm just kind of blessed and fortunate to be able to kind of continue the same road as far as basketball, but it'll be from a different viewpoints and different skillset," Gray said.

Drafted 49th overall in 2007, Gray appeared in 318 games for four teams, averaging 3.4 points and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 50.9 percent from the floor.

It's unclear if Gray's medical retirement will allow the Pistons to clear him off their books since they already used the stretch provision, but generally retirements due to injury or illness don't count against the cap.