When Troy Weaver took the reins as the Pistons‘ general manager in 2020, fans and observers were a little caught off guard by his initial series of roster moves.
The rebuilding Pistons signed non-star veteran free agents like Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee to multiyear contracts; acquired players like Dewayne Dedmon and Zhaire Smith, only to waive-and-stretch them; and gave up nearly all of their future second-round picks along with Luke Kennard and Bruce Brown in order to land a third first-round pick in the draft.
Weaver’s unorthodox approach to rebuilding – or, as he calls it, “restoring” – didn’t exactly pay immediate dividends, as the Pistons’ 20-52 record was the worst in the Eastern Conference. But the Pistons’ crop of rookies – Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, Bey, and Saben Lee – had promising seasons, Grant thrived in an increased role, and Plumlee proved to be a worthwhile investment.
It may still be a couple years before the Pistons are back in the postseason, but there are reasons to be optimistic about the club’s future.
The Pistons’ Offseason Plan:
The 2021 NBA draft is widely considered to have a top tier of five players, and there’s approximately an 80% chance the Pistons will secure a top-five pick, putting the team in position to select Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs, Jalen Green, or Jonathan Kuminga.
Drafting any of those players would be a great start to the offseason for Weaver and company. Landing at No. 6 would be a setback, but would still give Detroit a chance to add a promising prospect to its young core.
The dead money that the Blake Griffin buyout left on the Pistons’ books for 2021/22 will hinder the team from opening up a ton of cap room. But as we saw last fall, Weaver won’t hesitate to take some chances and make the most of what little space the team does have.
Still, I wouldn’t expect the Pistons to be quite as active or aggressive as they were a year ago, when they were involved in seven offseason trades and handed out multiple long-term contracts in free agency. Weaver will certainly continue working to reshape the roster to meet his vision, but I’d be surprised if the Pistons’ lottery pick isn’t the team’s most noteworthy roster addition this summer.
Detroit’s figures to focus on finding under-the-radar value and perhaps even using its limited cap room to accommodate a salary-dump trade that helps replenish the team’s collection of second-round picks. Then, the priority will be player development — the organization has already brought in John Beilein and is overhauling Dwane Casey‘s coaching staff with that goal in mind.
Salary Cap Situation
Note: Our salary cap projections are based on a presumed 3% increase, which would result in a $112.4MM cap for 2021/22.
Guaranteed Salary
- Blake Griffin ($29,764,126) — Bought out.
- Jerami Grant ($20,002,500)
- Mason Plumlee ($8,137,500)
- Killian Hayes ($5,572,680)
- Josh Jackson ($5,005,350)
- Sekou Doumbouya ($3,613,680)
- Isaiah Stewart ($3,277,080)
- Dewayne Dedmon ($2,866,667) — Waived via stretch provision.
- Saddiq Bey ($2,824,320)
- Cory Joseph ($2,400,000) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below. 1
- Jahlil Okafor ($2,130,023)
- Deividas Sirvydis ($1,517,981)
- Zhaire Smith ($1,068,200) — Waived via stretch provision.
- Total: $88,180,107
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
Cory Joseph ($10,200,000) 1- Rodney McGruder ($5,000,000) 2
- Tyler Cook ($1,701,593) 3
- Total: $16,901,593
Restricted Free Agents
- Dennis Smith Jr. ($7,031,451 qualifying offer / $17,060,031 cap hold): Bird rights
- Hamidou Diallo ($2,079,826 qualifying offer / $2,079,826 cap hold): Bird rights
- Total (cap holds): $19,139,857
Two-Way Free Agents
Draft Picks
- No. 1 overall pick ($10,050,120)
- No. 37 overall pick (no cap hold)
- No. 42 overall pick (no cap hold) 5
- No. 52 overall pick (no cap hold)
Extension-Eligible Players
- Cory Joseph (veteran)
- Rodney McGruder (veteran)
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Wayne Ellington ($1,669,178): Non-Bird rights
- Total: $1,669,178
Offseason Cap Outlook
The Pistons have $88MM in guaranteed money on their books and will retain Diallo’s $2MM cap hold as they look to work out a new deal with him. That puts the team in position to operate either over or under the cap, depending in large part on whether they want to bring back Joseph. The cap hold for their first-round pick will also be a factor — it could be worth $10MM+ if it’s the No. 1 pick or less than $6MM if it’s No. 6.
My best guess for now is that the Pistons will waive Joseph before his salary becomes fully guaranteed and perhaps stretch his partial guarantee across three years, maximizing their flexibility in 2021. That could leave the team with $15MM+ in potential cap space. But again, if Detroit lands the first overall pick and/or really wants to keep Joseph around, operating over the cap – and having the full mid-level and bi-annual exceptions available – is another viable path for the team.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Room exception: $4,910,000 6
Footnotes
- Joseph’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after August 1.
- McGruder’s salary becomes fully guaranteed in mid-August (exact date TBD).
- Cook’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after August 10.
- Because he’ll have four years of NBA service, Jackson is ineligible to sign another two-way contract.
- This pick could move up to No. 41 if San Antonio’s first-round pick moves ahead of Charlotte’s in the lottery.
- This is a projected value. If the Pistons operate over the cap, they’d have the mid-level exception ($9.5MM), bi-annual exception ($3.7MM), and a trade exception ($2MM) available.
Salary and cap information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pistons’ offseason will be one to watch. Weaver was aggressive in jump starting his rebuild last year, and with mostly very good results. He won’t have the same capital this year, but he will have another lottery pick, a three 2nds, and at least some cap flexibility, if not actual space. He also won’t be starting from scratch like last year. Although that, in part, was by his election.
Trade Co Jo to a team who needs cap space and we get a better player and they get 10M off the books.
Why? They need the space themselves.
Pistons aren’t as strapped as Clips, Warriors, Lakers and Nets! This is Opportinity.
Pistons will be in the play in game next year.
I am afraid they will not, but that is good for DET as they will have another lotto pick!
With Bey and Grant. Don’t see Pistons taking Kuminga. Green and Mobley probably best fit. Unless of course they get 1st pick Cade. I sure would like to see Knicks trade up for Kuminga. I’d give up Toppin n Quickly. Pistons with a top pick. Have a nice group of young players. Can even move Grant for value and just go younger. Plenty of teams would bid for him.
Id take the profit on Grant today, if the price is right; and it should be with a dozen desperate teams wanting a combo forward
I know its a tough pill to swallow but the market is just too fruitful to not and they are not competing the next 2 years regardless.
DET will have two secondyear PGs, so Joseph will still be needed to keep spirits up next year.
But if they can get FA Josh Hart for CoryJ’s money, that would be hard to turn down. JoshH is from DC like Weaver. He has been a 3 averaging 8 rebs pg, but not shooting like he has.
Bey seems like he might have a bright future and Grant and Plumleee will at least keep the team from being totally hapless, but to me this is almost totally about the draft.
And until we know where they’re picking and who they pick I think it’s tough to speculate. With Griffin’s number still on the books I think it’s going to be almost impossible for them to sign the talent to be competitive this year, even if they wanted to, which might be debatable in itself.
They’re probably better off snagging another lottery pick in 2022 either way, then making more substantial moves next summer.
I like Jalen Green or Mobley for the Pistons. Mobley and Stewart would b a fun front court. But Hayes and Green would b equally fun to watch in the front court. I also think Suggs would fit with Hayes better then a lot of people think. Obviously Cade fits everywhere. But I tend to agree Kuminga might not a fit unless they move Grant. Which could happen. There’s teams like the Mavs, Clippers, Jazz and Bucks who I’m sure would bid on Grant. All 4 could use him badly to get more athletic and a shooter in the front court/wing spots.