With Cade Cunningham and a new-look squad coming together as the offseason continues, let’s take a look at what the Pistons have done so far and figure out what’s next.
The Pistons made their first move of the offseason on NBA draft night when they traded Mason Plumlee to the Charlotte Hornets along with the 37th draft pick in exchange for the 57th pick in a salary dump. They also waived Tyler Cook, who was a tremendous feel-good story in the second half of last season for Detroit, and they relinquished Wayne Ellington to the Los Angeles Lakers via free agency.
In addition to these roster moves, they also released Deividas Sirvydis, but he’ll be on their Las Vegas Summer League team so the organization appears to be invested in showcasing him in some way to enable future opportunities.
Among their subtractions initially included Cory Joseph, who ultimately ended up being added back into the flock. Waiving Joseph and then re-signing him into their cap space to a two-year, $10 million contract ended up saving them about $5 million, and he’ll provide depth behind Cade Cunningham and Killian Hayes. Joseph will also likely have reasonable trade value at the NBA trade deadline next season, so he provides some options and flexibility.
added Kelly Olynyk</a> and Trey Lyles via free agency. Olynyk was their first transaction once free agency began, and the Pistons signed him to a three-year, $37 million contract with a team option in year three. The Pistons struggled to get up 3-pointers last season, and Olynyk should do wonders for this squad on that end.</p>
<p>They get him for a team-friendly price point with future contract optionality, as well.</p>
<p>Trey Lyles was an interesting acquisition for $5 million on a two-year deal. Apparently, he has some <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/08/04/pistons-stands-nba-free-agency/"https://www.deseret.com/2018/4/3/20627163/former-utah-jazz-player-trey-lyles-rips-on-utah-quin-snyder-s-practices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bad blood with the city of Detroit</a> (and to be fair, after my basement flooded recently, so do I), but a player like Lyles will take what comes his way in free agency.</p>
<p>Last season Lyles averaged 5.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game for the San Antonio Spurs on shooting splits of 48-35-65. He played 15.6 minutes per game in 23 appearances with nine starts.</p>
<p>As for Joseph, who gets to appear in both the departures and the newcomers categories, he was outstanding in the final couple months of the season after the Pistons traded for him before the deadline. He’ll be duly rewarded for that with this contract.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/08/04/pistons-stands-nba-free-agency/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> What about current free agents? </a>
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may have up to as much as $4.9 million</a> in remaining available space, depending on how they choose to structure their existing free agency signings.</p>
<p>It’s also conceivable that they may use that space (if it even exists) to <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/08/04/pistons-stands-nba-free-agency/"https://twitter.com/RealQuintonMayo/status/1422993895508561928" target="_blank" rel="noopener">facilitate multi-team deals</a>, like one that could help move Spencer Dinwiddie from the Brooklyn Nets to the Washington Wizards.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal" data-url="https://hoopshabit.com/2021/08/02/2021-nba-free-agency-tracker-grades/" data-call-to-action="Next"
> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/08/04/pistons-stands-nba-free-agency/"https://hoopshabit.com/2021/08/02/2021-nba-free-agency-tracker-grades/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal </a> </div>
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