Let’s take a look at how the Detroit Pistons veteran players performed this season.
Now it is time to take a look at the performance of the 13 Detroit Pistons players who played some type of role for Detroit this season. I put the cutoff point at 28 games played to make sure trade deadline acquisition Dennis Schroder and injured Jaden Ivey would make the cut. Previously, I examined the Pistons’ young core . I’ll offer my thoughts on each player’s performance and my thoughts on their future with the team. In order to keep things comparable, we’ll look at their averages with the following format:
- Points/rebounds/assists/steals/blocks on FG%/3P%/FT%
Tobias Harris – 31.6 minutes over 73 games
Regular season: 13.7/5.9/2.2/1.0/0.8 on 48%/35%/86%
Playoffs: 15.7/7.7/0.5/1.0/1.2 on 48%/44%/100%
Analysis: This is exactly the Tobias Harris I expected this season when Trajan Langdon signed him last summer. He was a steady vet, fit into a huge weakness on this Pistons roster, and felt like this team’s glue guy. He’s not great, and he’s not bad – but he’s exactly the type of player this team needed this season.
Looking forward: I expect Tobias to be the team’s starting PF again next year, but by default, he’ll be the guy involved in all the fake trades for star players this summer. He’ll be on an expiring deal, and his salary is the highest on the team outside of Cade. I can’t see a world where the team moves on from Tobias this early, but we’ll see if Trajan needs Tobias and his contract to improve the team via trade.
Tim Hardaway Jr – 28.0 minutes over 77 games
Regular season: 11.0/2.4/1.6/0.5/0.1 on 41%/37%/86%
Playoffs: 12.0/2.8/1.2/0.3/0.0 on 34%/31%/80%
Analysis: THJ started in every game he played this season, either next to Jaden Ivey or Ausar Thompson. He played his role as a catch-and-shoot threat who offered effort on defense. There are times where his shot is streaky or you question his shot selection, but the best thing he did was open up the floor from the team’s young players.
Looking forward: Hardaway Jr doesn’t currently have a contract with Detroit, and I’m not convinced he’ll get another one. I expect Langdon to prioritize signing Beasley this summer, and I would give Sasser the fourth guard role given he’s still on his rookie contract. Now that Cade’s contract is expensive, Trajan will have to be more meticulous about how he spends his money.
Malik Beasley – 27.8 minutes over 82 games
Regular season: 16.3/2.6/1.7/0.9/0.1 on 43%/42%/68%
Playoffs: 14.0/2.5/1.2/0.5/0.2 on 37%/34%/100%
Analysis: Is it fair to say Malik Beasley was the best free agent signing in the league this summer? He was an absolute sniper for Detroit, and instantly showed elite off-ball chemistry with Cade Cunningham. If he hits a few more open threes in the playoffs, I think Detroit would’ve seen the second round.
Looking forward: Beasley just became a fan favorite, and I think he’ll be around for the next couple of years. He seems like the ultimate sixth man for this team and the ideal third guard in the Cade-Ivey-Beasley rotation. I expect Beasley to be Trajan’s top priority this offseason, and I’d like to see him sign a three-year deal.
Dennis Schroder – 25.2 minutes over 28 games
Regular season: 10.8/2.6/5.3/0.5/0.2 on 38%/30%/83%
Playoffs: 12.5/2.3/3.7/1.2/0.2 on 49%/48%/50%
Analysis: Schroder was a trade deadline acquisition to help provide an additional ball handler in the rotation. He seemed to have bought in to the culture right away, and he played his best basketball in a Pistons uniform this postseason, including hitting multiple clutch three-pointers.
Looking forward: Is their room on next year’s roster for Schroder? How many minutes are left over for him if Cade, Ivey, and Beasley are in front of him? I think only one of Beasley, Hardaway, and Schroder will return next season due to the numbers of guards already on the team, so I’m not sure we’ll see Schroder in Detroit again.
Simone Fontecchio – 16.5 minutes over 75 games
Regular season: 5.9/2.9/0.9/0.4/0.2 on 40%/34%/83%
Playoffs: n/a
Analysis: Simone probably had the most disappointing performance of any Detroit Piston this season. He shot above 40% from three with Detroit when he was acquired at last year’s trade deadline and looked like a strong catch-and-shoot threat for Cade. Yet, for some reason, he tried to dribble a lot more this year and the results weren’t great.
Looking forward: If there’s a player that gets traded this offseason, my money is on Simone. I think the team wants to see what they have in Bobi Klintman, and Bobi won’t cost the team $8 million next season. Since Fontecchio is on a cheap, expiring deal, I think he’s most likely to be on another team next year.
Paul Reed – 9.7 minutes over 45 games
Regular season: 4.1/2.7/1.0/0.9/0.6 on 51%/29%/76%
Playoffs: 2.8/3.0/0.2/1.0/0.6 on 63%/0%/67%
Analysis: BBall Paul was a great third big for Detroit this year. He brings effort on defense, he has active hands, and he can hit the occasional jumper. He was tasked with filling Isaiah’s Stewart’s role in the playoffs, and it felt like he played as best as he could.
Looking forward: I would gladly support bringing Paul Reed back in the same role next year. However, once again, I would not be upset if we wanted a big that could stretch the floor.