Aside from the fact that the Detroit Pistons are currently shaking up their front office and there’s trickle-down impact that could come from that, this is going to be a massive summer of change in the Motor City.
This roster — which just finished not only with the worst record in the league this season but the worst ever in franchise history — has 11 players who are either unrestricted free agents, restricted free agents or have club options. Eleven. And given how disastrous this past season was, it doesn’t seem likely that many of these players will be back. Will anyone stay? Who goes?
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Let’s get into it.
(Writer’s note: I will not be diving into the likes of Buddy Boeheim, Tosan Evbuomwan, Jared Rhoden or Stanley Umude; players who floated back and forth between the main roster and G League team.)
Likely to go
Evan Fournier
Contract status: $19 million team option
Odds he returns: 0 percent
I don’t really need to know who will be making roster decisions to know that Fournier’s $19 million team option won’t be picked up this summer. If it is, it would be used for a trade, but I’m not sure why the Pistons wouldn’t just rather have the cap space instead.
The 31-year-old guard was traded to Detroit at the NBA trade deadline after being out of the rotation in New York. And while head coach Monty Williams routinely played Fournier 20 minutes per game, citing his veteran presence as needed on the floor, the numbers don’t justify Fournier coming back. In 29 games as a member of the Pistons, Fournier shot under 40 percent from the field and under 30 percent from 3 on four attempts per game while struggling defensively.
I don’t really need to go too deep into this one.
James Wiseman
Contract status: Restricted free agent (Qualifying offer: $7,744,601)
Odds he returns: 0 to 10 percent
Yes, Wiseman had some solid moments in the second half of the season. And, yes, he’s still very young. And, yes, the Pistons will need to fill out the back end of their roster.
However, I think there’s a very, very slim chance that Wiseman returns to Detroit next season, especially if there are new decision-makers in town. If he does, it will certainly be below his qualifying offer.
Wiseman struggled with consistency this season on both ends of the floor. The size and length he has doesn’t often translate to passable defense, and he’s not a particularly great rebounder. Offensively, he is a lob threat. And I do commend him for being more of a ball mover this season. Yet, there just isn’t enough there to suggest that he’d be anymore than a third center going forward.
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Wiseman and the Pistons just need a clean break at this point.
Taj Gibson
Contract status: Unrestricted free agent
Odds he returns: 0 percent
Gibson provided a much-needed, late-season bolt of energy to a Pistons locker room that desperately needed more veterans around. He made the environment more lively and was a voice of reason for the young bigs. He even had a few good moments on the court when called upon.
With that said, the soon-to-be 39-year-old Gibson doesn’t have a lot left in the tank and I’d imagine that with all the roster change likely to take place this summer that Detroit would prefer to take a chance on someone with more upside as opposed to Gibson, who has had a long, solid NBA career.
Malachi Flynn
Contract status: Restricted free agent (Qualifying offer: $5.8 million)
Odds he returns: 0 to 25 percent
With the most unlikely 50-ball in NBA history to his name, Flynn, similar to Brown, isn’t as bad as his time with the Pistons suggests. However, I just can’t see a world where Detroit brings him back unless it is just as insurance as the 14th or 15th man at the end of its bench.
Detroit certainly will not go anywhere near his qualifying offer of $5.8 million, but I wouldn’t rule out a veteran minimum deal if the team needs to fill out the roster and Flynn needs a home. It did seem like Flynn enjoyed his short time with the Pistons.
He is capable of legitimate scoring games, but that’s about all he showed in Detroit. Flynn is a good locker-room guy who does bring it every day, so I wouldn’t rule it out completely. But, yeah, Flynn wouldn’t have anywhere near the role he did to have the season in the surprising instance he is back in the Motor City next year.
Chimezie Metu
Contract status: $2.6 million team option
Odds he returns: 0 to 25 percent
Metu had some good moments during his 14-game stint with the Pistons, and while I don’t believe he is an every-night rotation player, I do think he is someone the organization should consider bringing back to round out its roster.
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Metu played significant minutes for the likes of the Kings and Suns in the past, and I was somewhat surprised that he was available for the Pistons to pick up so late in the season. At 27 years old, standing at 6-foot-10, Metu could provide some much-needed insurance and versatility to Detroit’s forward spots while even being able to play small-ball five in a pinch. He’s long and can finish at the rim. He also shot the 3-ball well the final handful of games to end the season.
Defensively, given his size and athleticism, there is value.
Because there will be someone new calling the shots in Detroit, I’m not sure if Metu will just be a casualty of a big-time house cleaning, but he certainly should be in consideration to come back if the Pistons need one or two more guys to fill out a full roster.
Troy Brown Jr.
Contact status: $4 million player option
Odds he returns: 0 to 25 percent
I don’t believe Brown was as bad as his time in Detroit suggests, but I don’t think he did himself any favors.
A fringe, 3-and-D rotation player during his previous stops, Brown shot under 30 percent from the field and from 3 in 22 games with the Pistons this season. He didn’t play a ton upon his arrival at the deadline, and he was thrust into the starting lineup down the stretch due to various injuries. I’d imagine it would be hard for anyone to be fully locked in after a midseason trade to the worst team in the NBA, and Brown certainly didn’t look like the player he was a season ago with the Lakers.
If Brown doesn’t have any good offers this summer, I could see Detroit bringing him back to be the fourth or fifth wing at the end of the bench, but I can’t imagine they’d pick up his player option.
Likely to stay
Simone Fontecchio
Contract status: Restricted free agent (Qualifying offer: $5.2 million)
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Odds he returns: 100 percent
For a season that had very little go right, the Pistons did well by adding “Tek-19” at the NBA’s trade deadline. The 28-year-old forward showed he can be more than just a 3-point shooter after coming to Detroit from Utah, as he showed off the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket to finish at the rim.
In 16 games with the Pistons (a toe injury kept him out for the final few weeks), Fontecchio shot 48 percent from the field and 42.6 percent from 3 on 6.3 attempts per game all while being a solid defender and decent rebounder from the forward spot. To be quite frank, Detroit could use a few more Fontecchios this summer.
Whoever becomes the lead decision-maker this summer will bring back Fontecchio. I’m sure of that. He’s even talked as if he knows he’ll be back next year and that he’s very much looking forward to continuing his career with the Pistons.
My guess is that Fontecchio will get a contract similar to what Luke Kennard got from the LA Clippers (four years/$56 million) or what Bogdan Bogdanović got from the Atlanta Hawks (four years/$68 million). Somewhere in between there.
(Top photo of Fontecchio: Luke Hales / Getty Images)
