Will a wild weekend lead to a wild night with the opening of free agency?
What a wild weekend.
In case you missed it, the Detroit Pistons had the following go down:
- Amidst rumors that the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings want him to start for them, Dennis Schroder went on Instagram Live and said “Detroit ain’t waiting for me” when asked if he wants to return
- The Pistons’ hypothetical top target in free agency, Naz Reid, re-signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves for 5 years and $125 million .
- And, of course, sharpshooter and Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Malik Beasley is under federal investigation for connection to unusual gambling activity.
Here we are, hours away from the legal tampering period of NBA Free Agency , which tips off at 6 p.m., and I’m not sure where Pistons boss Trajan Langdon will go. Here are some rambling thoughts about that:
Are the margins gone?
Langdon said in his most recent press conference that Detroit wasn’t looking to pursue a big splash and instead was looking to “add around the margins” and “bring back our veterans.”
Well, about that. Beasley being in limbo makes it hard to wait on the findings of this investigation. They have to move as if he’s in trouble, and if he’s cleared, maybe they can revisit later on at a discounted rate.
Tim Hardaway Jr. is out there, and he’s probably going to continue to sit out there. I think improving on the soon-to-be 34 year old would be smart. He remains a nice fallback option, but rumors of the Pistons interest in Duncan Robinson tell me THJ is not a priority.
With Beasley and Schroder’s statuses up in the air, the margins Trajan referenced are gone. It feels like taking a step back in that they really need to fill this roster out like they did last summer.
One Wolverine out, two Wolverines in?
I already talked about THJ being in limbo, but I don’t know what to think about the potential addition of Caris LeVert . He’s been on a playoff team in five of nine seasons in the NBA.
Clearly, he’s not this damaging player. He’s useful in the right role, one where he can have the rock in his hands creating and scoring. With Cade, Jaden Ivey and Ausar Thompson, that role doesn’t really exist with the Pistons.
He’s a bad fit for what Malik Beasley did, and I think if they did sign him, he’d have to be the focal point of your bench. He’d be empowered to handle the ball, create and score, it’s a lot of runway and completely different from the off-ball, catch-and-shoot role of Beasley.
Robinson fits that mold better, and I think he’s probably a marginal upgrade on Hardaway Jr. I just don’t think Robinson can replace Beasley in the same way, but if you need spacing with the starters, he’ll provide that.
If he lands here, I think Robinson is a band-aid. It’s a move that allows you to give Ron Holland more time. Eventually, one would hope, Holland’s shooting and ball handling reach a point where he’s starting for you.
I expect a big jump from him this season, but that’s tough to bank on if you’re Langdon and you want to continue to be a playoff contender and not fall back into the Play-In.
Nah or NAW?
Man, I want Nickiel Alexander-Walker here. I’m willing to overpay to get it done. He’s a connector who makes threes and defends well. He’s a proven playoff performer and feels like the prototype for role players you should surround Cade with.
He’s reportedly swung from a Pistons target to a likely Atlanta Hawk, which would be a big gut punch because not only does Detroit have to shift to Plan B (LeVert?) but a team on the rise in Atlanta jumps ahead of Detroit with NAW in the fold.
I came into the draft and offseason looking for the Pistons to make additions that pushed them beyond the 44 wins they had last season . I expected them to progress, earn home court advantage and be a team that could realistically say, “Hey, we’ve got a chance to do what the Indiana Pacers just did.”
Now, with the Beasley situation, the murky rumors around free agency and the improving teams around them, I’m shifting to be more aligned with the idea that the Pistons need to just stay afloat.
If they can’t make moves that significantly improve their roster, they need to make moves that ensure it doesn’t weaken. That means keeping the spacing that made them so good in tact while continuing to focus on sharpening the defensive identity they embraced a year ago.
A lot can change once the clock strikes 6 o’clock.
For all of our sake, let’s hope those changes are finally good for the Pistons.