ORLANDO – Summer League doesn’t tell you what a player will become, but it sometimes tells you what he won’t.

At 19, Stanley Johnson has more evolving ahead of him than the typical NBA rookie, but he might not be starting from nearly as far back as some of the predraft skepticism suggested.

Johnson debuted with 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting in 25 minutes Saturday as the Pistons dropped their Summer League opener to Orlando White (the Magic are fielding two Summer League teams) 87-76. The numbers say he hit 1 of 2 from 3-point range, a small sample size but a nice start for a guy whose perimeter shot was questioned. They don’t say that he finished twice in traffic, another of the question marks, nor that he made a handful of nice plays off the dribble in picking up three assists with no turnovers.

And it came after a string of two-a-day practices that he admitted had sapped his legs. But Johnson knows that’s all part of the test for rookies, mental as much as physical.

“I don’t think Stan (Van Gundy) would draft somebody who’s soft and I would consider soft bowing out to fatigue,” Johnson said. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to play basketball. They’re not trying to kill us. They want to see the best of us.”

The best of Johnson probably came midway through the third quarter, plays at either end in the span of a minute. First was an eye-opening drive from high on the right side, blowing past his man, spotting the help defense, exploding to a jump stop and left-handed reverse finish. Two defensive possessions later, he made a knifing steal in front of the Pistons bench, dribbled the length of the court and scored through a hard foul.

“The numbers, whatever they say – this, that and the other – they know what I can do,” Johnson said to address his perceived difficulties finishing in the paint during his freshman season at Arizona. “I’ve been finishing at the rim since I was a baby, so I don’t think there’s a problem with me finishing layups.”

He flashed impressive ballhandling skils a couple of times, too, dishing the ball to open shooters without drawing charging fouls. For all the buzz about his NBA-ready body and physicality, there appears to be some subtlety and maturity to his game, too.

“I’ve said people are going to be surprised at how well I pass the ball,” Johnson said. “It’s my decision-making. I started with that when I first started talking about myself. When I get that down, I’ll take my game to new heights. I’m just really trying to learn the right passes to make. I’m learning. I’m making easy reads. I’m not trying to make it complicated. I’m trying to get on base is what I would call it.”

Johnson didn’t start the game, but did start the second half. The Pistons want to rotate Johnson with second-rounder Darrun Hilliard and D-League scoring star Adonis Thomas at the two wing positions. Thomas, who expects to be in training camp with the Pistons, led them in scoring Saturday with 17 points, hitting 3 of 4 3-point shots after both he and the team got off to a shaky offensive start with 17 first-quarter points.

“We’ve been going to war with each other so long, so when you come out here it’s a different environment,” Thomas said. “The coaches told me to relax and that’s when I found my rhythm.”

The worst news of the day came before tipoff, when the Pistons learned that Quincy Miller was ruled out for Summer League. He suffered a broken nose, orbital floor fracture and corneal abrasion of the right eye when he got hit in the fact during Wednesday’s second practice. Until then, nobody had performed better than Miller, who’s been a fixture at the Pistons practice facility since the season ended. Pistons coach Bob Beyer on Friday said he expected a big Summer League for Miller.

Point guard Spencer Dinwiddie wasn’t happy with his six-turnover performance, but his play picked up as the game unfolded. Dinwiddie finished with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists and got to the line, hitting 6 of 8 free throws.

“Turnovers were on me,” he said. “It’s a player’s mistake. Nobody else can get those for you. Made some bad decisions.”

The Pistons come back Sunday for a 1 p.m. tipoff against the Los Angeles Clippers.