JULY 14: The Pistons have issued a press release formally announcing their new deal with Tolliver.
JULY 11: The Pistons have agreed to a one-year, $3.3MM deal with free agent forward Anthony Tolliver, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). Detroit will use its bi-annual exception to complete the signing.
Tolliver, 32, spent the better part of two seasons with the Pistons from 2014 to 2016, but left the team last summer to sign a free agent contract with the Kings. The veteran averaged 7.1 PPG and 3.6 RPG with a .442 FG% in 65 games during his one-year stay in Sacramento, with the Kings opting to waive him rather than fully guaranteeing his 2017/18 salary, which was partially guaranteed for $2MM (of $8MM).
The addition of Tolliver could be the last major move of the offseason for the Pistons, who have now used both their mid-level exception and their bi-annual exception. The club used most of its MLE on Langston Galloway and sent Marcus Morris to Boston in a deal for Avery Bradley, creating a lack of depth in the frontcourt, particularly in the wake of Aron Baynes‘ departure.
Detroit addressed its need for bigs by using the rest of its MLE on Eric Moreland and now by using its BAE to add Tolliver. The duo will join Andre Drummond, Jon Leuer, Boban Marjanovic, and Henry Ellenson in the Pistons’ frontcourt.
Meanwhile, the bi-annual exception, which is worth $3.29MM this year, can only be used once every two years, so it won’t be available to the Pistons in 2018/19.
Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press first reported the Pistons’ interest in Tolliver.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Moreland, Galloway and Tolliver. I guess it makes sense to go after as many Kings players as you can. When you build an elite team like the Kings and the Warriors it’s always going to be tough keeping everyone.
Lmao!! My exact thought when I read the headline!
I wouldnt call this a “major move”.
Well, “major” is relative, but they’ll likely fill out their camp roster with UDFA signings from here. I’d consider those moves minor compared to this one (which is admittedly minor compared to many other NBA moves from the last 11 days).
That photo looks like he’s yelling, “Nooooooooo!” Sorry. Too easy.