- The Pistons are in a tough spot with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope‘s pending restricted free agency, Bobby Marks of the Vertical writes. The 24-year-old could sign a lofty offer sheet with another organization, forcing the club to flirt with the luxury tax if they wish to retain him. Choosing not to retain him, however, won’t free up enough cap space for a suitable replacement.
- The Pistons struggled from behind the arc this year and Ansar Khan of Mlive wonders if Jackson could be a fit because of his improved 3-point shot. The small forward shot 29.2% from behind the arc as a sophomore, but he increased it to 37.0% last season. Detroit is currently slotted in the 12th spot, but the team has a chance to move up during Tuesday’s lottery.
The Pistons have indicated since the regular season ended that adding outside shooting to their roster will be a priority this offseason. However, while a veteran sharpshooter like J.J. Redick – who is a free agent and played for Stan Van Gundy in Orlando – looks like an ideal fit on the surface, Detroit’s cap situation will make it difficult to pursue a player of that caliber, writes Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press.
As Ellis explains, the Pistons will be well over the cap if they retain Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and would only have the mid-level, bi-annual, and minimum salary exceptions at their disposal to add free agents in that scenario. The bi-annual and minimum exceptions are too modest to add an impact player, and even the MLE – which is expected to rise in value to about $8.4MM – likely wouldn’t be enough to land someone like Redick. That means Detroit may have to get creative in trades or target under-the-radar free agents in order to acquire the shooting help they need.
Ellis’ entire piece, which touches on a handful of Pistons-related offseason topics, is worth checking out. Here are a few more items out of Detroit:
- One shooter who may be attainable for the Pistons is Duke’s Luke Kennard, who is a candidate to be selected in the lottery by Detroit or another club. Brendan Savage of MLive.com examines Kennard’s potential fit with the Pistons.
- After a solid rookie year, former eighth overall pick Stanley Johnson took a step backward in 2016/17. While Johnson’s development remains a work in progress, he wasn’t discouraged by his underwhelming sophomore season, and the Pistons remain hopeful that he can blossom into a key piece for the team, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
- In a separate piece for The Detroit News, Beard previews this week’s draft combine from the Pistons’ perspective and passes along a few quotes on the subject from Van Gundy.
- Pistons center Andre Drummond recently had surgery to fix a deviated septum that caused breathing problems for the past four years, relays Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. “[I’ve] been playing with my right nostril for four years because I ended up [injuring my nose] some more after my second season,” Drummond said. “I never really had a chance to really sit down and do a surgery. Last year, we made the playoffs and the year before that, I went to the Olympics. It was really tough for me to be out for six weeks and not be able to do anything.” The Pistons signed Drummond to a max deal last summer, but have reportedly been gauging his trade value because of concerns over his work ethic.
Expect Pistons big man Boban Marjanovic to get more of an opportunity to shine next season. Rod Beard of the Detroit News writes that fans can expect current backup center Aron Baynes to explore free agency by turning down his player option, leaving Marjonvic as the next man up behind Andre Drummond.
In limited action Marjanovic showed flashes of excellence, no surprise considering he did just that with the Spurs in 2015/16. Per 36, his 23.5 points and 16.0 rebounds make him a particularly compelling option for a Pistons team that often has to bench Drummond on account of his poor free-throw shooting.
Unfortunately, as the Pistons struggled and eventually failed to sneak into the postseason, Marjanovic was rarely used in 2016/17.
“This is a fault of ours that we really didn’t build anything around him, either offensively or defensively,” Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy said last month. “We have to do some defensive things to help him and we’ve got to get him the ball even more offensively, but he was our third center, so we didn’t build enough around him. Certainly we will, going forward.”
Aron Baynes probably won’t decide whether to opt out of his contract for next season until close to the June 20th deadline, according to Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. The back-up center is set to make $6.5MM next year, but has the chance to get a much larger payday on the open market. He is considered one of the top reserve big men in the league, averaging 4.9 points and 4.4 rebounds in 72 games this season. The Pistons are limited in their offer because they only hold Early Bird Rights on Baynes. That means they can go over the cap, but can only give him a 175% raise, which would amount to about $11.3MM for next season. “He’s enjoyed himself there,” said Baynes’ agent, Entersport Management president Marc Fleisher. “He likes [Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy], he likes the organization, but he’s also got to consider the financial ramifications.”
There’s more news out of Detroit:
- Restricted free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has an evidentiary hearing set for May 18th in connection with his March arrest for DUI, Ellis adds in the same piece. Caldwell-Pope may face a suspension from the league if he is convicted.
- Pistons GM Jeff Bower is considering the $8.4MM mid-level exception as a way to upgrade the roster, Ellis writes in a separate story. Detroit has made good use of the MLE in the past, signing Chauncey Billups in 2002 and Antonio McDyess in 2004, but Ellis notes that the league’s changing salary structure has made it harder to find good players at that level. He mentions Boston’s James Young and Golden State’s Ian Clark as possible targets.
- The Pistons will face difficulty in building a contender without a high draft pick on the roster, writes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. Detroit’s highest draftees are Caldwell-Pope and Stanley Johnson, who went with the eighth pick in their respective drafts. Andre Drummond, who was taken ninth in 2012, and Marcus Morris, who went 14th in 2011, are the Pistons’ only other lottery picks. “We’re one of two teams that don’t have a top-seven pick anywhere on their roster,” Van Gundy said. Detroit is slotted at No. 12 heading into the May 16th lottery.
At the end of the Pistons‘ season last month, president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy vowed that changes were coming for the team, but there’s not necessarily an obvious path for the team to make personnel changes, contends Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
In Langlois’ view, it’s obvious that the Pistons need to add some scoring punch, perhaps in the form of three-point shooting. However, the team’s top three-point shooter – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – will be a restricted free agent, and re-signing him will likely limit Detroit’s ability to add another impact scorer, since most of the team’s other rotation players are under contract.
One Pistons regular not under contract for next season is Aron Baynes, and his player option decision will play a part in how the club approaches the offseason. According to Vince Ellis of The Detroit News (Twitter link), Baynes’ agent said today that his client figures to mull his decision on that option right up until the June 20 deadline.
Here’s more on the Pistons and a couple of their Central rivals:
- In a separate piece for Pistons.com, Langlois details the recent history of “mystery men” in the first round of the NBA draft, and wonders if the Pistons might be the team to roll the dice on a relative unknown this June.
- Following a disappointing season for the Pistons, Rod Beard of The Detroit News makes five suggestions for ways the team could potentially improve this summer.
- Boban Marjanovic didn’t play much for the Pistons in the first season of his three-year deal with the team, but his audition will give Stan Van Gundy plenty to consider as the club weighs how to use Marjanovic going forward, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Boban could become a more crucial piece of Detroit’s rotation in 2017/18 if Aron Baynes departs in free agency.
- Rod Beard of The Detroit News examines five players the Pistons could take if they stay at No. 12. The team has a 2.5% chance at climbing into the top-3, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors notes.
After a disappointing 2016/17 campaign, the Pistons will look to shore up their three-point shooting. So says head coach Stan Van Gundy, at least. Aaron McMann of MLive wrote about Detroit’s goal heading into the offseason.
“We’ve got to shoot the ball better, there’s no question about that,” Van Gundy told the media following his exit interviews with Pistons players.
Not long after, he’d go on to complain about the team’s regression throughout the season, as has become somewhat of a custom for the Pistons bench boss.
“We just talked about that with our team. I think a lot of that can be internal development. [The Pistons] had virtually an entire roster that took a step back in that area this year.”
- The Pistons had the seventh highest payroll in the NBA this year, so Brendan Savage of MLive took a good long look at the value of each player’s contract. Marcus Morris, Ish Smith and Beno Udrih were the only relative bargains.