The Pistons are claiming former Sixers big man Paul Reed off waivers, The Athletic’s Shams Charania tweets . The Pistons have confirmed the move in a press release (Twitter link ).
Reed was placed on waivers on Saturday when Philadelphia chose to sign free agent forward Caleb Martin . He had been due to clear waivers and become a free agent at 4:00 pm CT if he had gone unclaimed.
The Pistons will use some of their available cap room to claim Reed, who signed a three-year, $23,555,150 contract last summer with Philadelphia. Only the first year was guaranteed — his $7.7MM salary for next season remains non-guaranteed until early January, and his $8.1MM salary for 2025/26 will stay non-guaranteed as long as his team doesn’t advance to the second round of the playoffs.
The Pistons could retain Reed to compete with or back up incumbent center Jalen Duren , use Reed as a trade chip, or waive him again if they need to clear cap room to make another move.
Reed has evolved into a serviceable backup in the frontcourt over the past few seasons. In 2023/24, he averaged 7.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 1.0 blocks, appearing in all 82 of Philadelphia’s regular season games.