The Pistons thrived putting shooting around Cade Cunningham, and are now trying to replace 500 made 3s with limited flexibility
The Detroit Pistons are currently sitting in a precarious position. What seems to have been plans A, B, and C have all fallen by the wayside, and while seem to be nibbling around the edges of their roster, several teams below them in last year’s standings have gotten markedly better.
The offseason is far from over. It’s not quite 24 hours old, as a matter of fact. But there are two areas that give me pause as a Pistons fan. Put simply, I’m slightly worried about the player(s) they added, and I am really worried about the players they lost.
To recap, the Pistons entered the offseason with three significant free agents — Malik Beasley, Dennis Schröder, and Tim Hardaway Jr. After one full day of free agency, they have lost Schöder to the Sacramento Kings and Malik Beasley might not suit up for a team as he faces a federal investigation tied to NBA betting.
You can only take NBA rumors so seriously, but the players Detroit was frequently tied to are not suiting up for Detroit. The Pistons were poised to sign Beasley to a three-year $42 million deal. That obviously got scuttled.
There were indications the Pistons were extremely interested in investing real money in a stretch big — Myles Turner and Santi Aldama were frequently mentioned. Turner took $100 million from the Milwaukee Bucks , and Aldama took $52 million to stay with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Then there were rumors about stealing away Nickeil Alexander-Walker from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a move that would add a plus-plus defender and complementary ball handler to Detroit. Instead, he signed a lucrative deal with the Atlanta Hawks .
Instead, the Pistons re-signed Paul Reed as a third big man, which is a luxury the Pistons might not be able to afford depending on how the rest of the roster shakes out. Most significantly, they used $14 million to sign Caris LeVert as a reserve wing who can put the ball in the hoop and create for himself, but is only middling in efficiency and doesn’t stretch the floor reliably.
LeVert’s mix of size and ability to handle the ball responsibly fits well into Detroit’s rotation. He can be viewed as a hybrid of Hardaway Jr.’s size with better defense, and Schröder’s scoring and passing ability, albeit less dynamic.
That’s fine. There is just one glaring omission. He doesn’t stretch the floor like Hardaway, and certainly nothing like Beasley.
The Pistons didn’t want to lose all their players this offseason, but if they do, they will be waving goodbye to more than 500 made three-pointers from one year ago. They have effectively replaced that with LeVert, who made 106 threes last year.
Worse still, the avenues for adding shooting to the team are closing fast. There were rumblings that the Pistons could get Malik Monk from the Kings in a sign-and-trade deal for Schröder, but Detroit seems to have balked at adding the significant money and years owed to Monk to the roster, and Sacramento made an alternative move to create the space needed to sign the point guard away from Detroit.
There are continued rumblings about a sign-and-trade involving Duncan Robinson, but that also requires giving up assets.
While the Pistons seem to be struggling to add significant talent to the roster, other franchises in the Eastern Conference are having no such troubles.
The Orlando Magic have added Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones. The Atlanta Hawks added Alexander-Walker, Luke Kennard, and Kristaps Porzingis. The Miami Heat seem to be in pole position to add Damian Lillard.
The real problem seems to be that the addition of LeVert really makes the most sense if you think about him being added to last year’s team. But he is being added to this year’s team. And this year’s team is missing an incredible amount of 3-point firepower.
LeVert as a big secondary ball handler and playmaker could do some damage if he is passing out to Beasley, Hardaway Jr., or Schröder. Now, who is he passing it to? Ron Holland? Ausar Thompson? Jaden Ivey?
It feels like not only is it not enough, it might not work at all. Putting shooting around Cade Cunningham unlocked his game and turned him into an All-Star. Now, the Pistons seem to be retreating from that, even if that wasn’t the franchise’s intention 24 hours ago.
There are a lot of teams getting better in the East. I don’t think the Detroit Pistons are one of them. At least not yet.
Again, there is a long time remaining before the dust settles and rosters are set. But if you’re a Pistons fan, and you are worried. I get it. After so many years of struggle and strife, the last thing we want is for this team to go backwards.