NBA Free Agency 2020

[everyoneneedsasmil]

It's barely passed the start of free agency, but the Pistons already to have signed Mason Plumlese for 3 years and 25 million.

Plumlee probably isn't worth that much as a career backup who can't shoot and isn't a great defender, but they team had to pay somebody, and Plumlee knows his role.

Cap space doesn't have the kind of value here that it does in LA or NY, so the more important question is if this contract is movable going forward. And it is.

 

[everyoneneedsasmil]

Pistons sign Jahlil Okafor to a two year deal (price not yet released).

Ok, so now two centers who have zero value in the modern NBA. Signing both players (after drafting Stewart) doesn't seem to make any sense, but it hardly matters. Neither of these guys make the team better, and the team is aiming for a top pick, not wins.

 

[gotime909]

Also just signed Jahlil Okafor to the vet minimum.

This has to be the quickest a roster has been nearly completely turned over lol

 

[everyoneneedsasmil]

Also just signed Jahlil Okafor to the vet minimum.

This has to be the quickest a roster has been nearly completely turned over lol

If only they could move Blake. He's the one player that could realistically put a crimp in their draft plans.

 

[gotime909]

2 year deal for Josh Jackson too

 

[Mitchrapp]

The NBA doesn't have a minimum cap they need to hit, right??? So why signed players who aren't worth anything? That's the NBA for ya.

 

[food4thought]

I was disappointed when they drafted an undersized throwback center with their 2nd pick... then they added two more centers in trades (one of whom is 31 years old making 13 million this year, and can be waived next year for a 1 million cap hit,). OK, I get it, they wanted to beef up the frontcourt and be more physical... don't really agree with that philosophy in todays NBA, but maybe that's what Casey wanted. BUT... THEN... they grossly overpaid (FOR THREE STINKING YEARS!!!) for another aging center in FA (although he is a decent passer), and then added another throwback center in FA (although he is younger, and came pretty cheap)... all of this, with the addition of Ariza's salary also, making it very doubtful that their best young player (Wood) can be resigned.


Before I lose my mind over this, I tell myself that these moves, sadly, probably indicate the reality that Wood had zero desire to resign and was never coming back next year anyway. I also remind myself that there may be more trades coming. These things are probably true.

But at this point, I still can't help but wonder: What the hell is this organization doing!?! What is their plan!?! Is the master plan to build a roster for the future comprised of a PG, a 3&D SF, and 3 centers?!? And why draft a center in the mid-1st round, trade for another promising young center, sign another young center, and then bury them on the depth chart behind two overpaid back-up 30-somethings!?! And, finally, why on earth would you give a 31 year old backup center over 8 million per year for THREE YEARS when other teams get better centers on short term deals at a lower per year salary!?! /rant

~breathing really heavy, red faced, with pulsing vein on forehead... hits post~

 

[everyoneneedsasmil]

The NBA doesn't have a minimum cap they need to hit, right??? So why signed players who aren't worth anything? That's the NBA for ya.

Technically they do. If teams don't meet 90% of the salary cap, they are forced to pay everyone to match that amount. I agree these signings are worthless in terms of winning basketball games, but that's probably a good thing. Detroit had been stuck as an in between lottery team (7-15) for too long. They were already a shitty team, at least they know it now.

Jackson is young enough to have some possibility, doesn't hurt to lock the tires (same with Okafor). But yeah, these signings are garbage. It'll be interesting to see if Weaver tries to sell these guys as contributors or just lets the team speak for itself.

 

[Mitchrapp]

Technically they do. If teams don't meet 90% of the salary cap, they are forced to pay everyone to match that amount. I agree these signings are worthless in terms of winning basketball games, but that's probably a good thing. Detroit had been stuck as an in between lottery team (7-15) for too long. They were already a shitty team, at least they know it now.

Jackson is young enough to have some possibility, doesn't hurt to lock the tires (same with Okafor). But yeah, these signings are garbage. It'll be interesting to see if Weaver tries to sell these guys as contributors or just lets the team speak for itself.

I get that we want them to lose but is that what management wants? New management.

 

[biggunsbob]

They just over paid for another player the kid from Denver Grant.

Check out this article from Detroit Free Press:

Detroit Pistons to sign Jerami Grant, their biggest splash yet in wild free agency spree

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/...t-detroit-pistons-nba-free-agency/6368476002/

 

[biggunsbob]

Pistons with free agents

https://twitter.com/jtylerconway/status/1329989250679525376?s=20

 

[biggunsbob]

Wood signs with the Rockets. 3 years 41 million.

Is it part of a sign and trade deal ? Is it part of the other deal with Houston or are we getting Harding or Westbrook lol.. kidding. Maybe Westbrook.


Deal expected to be completed with a sign-and-trade via Detroit, per source.

Adrian Wojnarowski
@wojespn
Free agent F Christian Wood has agreed to a three-year, $41M deal with the Houston Rockets, sources tell ESPN.

 

[biggunsbob]

I was just kidding but are we getting Westbrook ? That is a pretty stupid way to rebuild if they are because the new roster could probably win 40 games with Westbrook. If everyone is healthy.

 

[sggatecl]

You guys need to stop looking at these moves from the perspective of building a winning team for next year. That is not the goal at all.

I don't blame you all for panicking since there hasn't been a proper rebuild in Detroit for almost two decades and it's like a foreign concept. But I would highly advise not judging every single move on it's face. Step back, take a breath, and see what happens over the next few days, even weeks.

 

[Mitchrapp]

It should always be about winning, now. Rebuild has gone on long enough. It's been a dozen years, I suppose you could label it as rebuild, or they just weren't any good. But a dozen years 1 team above .500. And now they have a new GM and it's status quo?

This isn't the Lions. Or maybe it is.

 

[sggatecl]

It should always be about winning, now.

At the risk of sounding extremely condescending, that isn't how the NBA works and it hasn't for a long time. The years of Joe Dumars and SVG at the helm have brainwashed you. This isn't the NFL, you don't just go from worst to first.

Rebuild has gone on long enough. It's been a dozen years, I suppose you could label it as rebuild, or they just weren't any good. But a dozen years 1 team above .500.

No. There was NEVER a proper rebuild. Being bad =! rebuilding.
The half assed rebuilds started with the Iverson trade and Ben Gordon signing and continued when Gores brought the team downtown and needed to fill seats. A dozen years under .500 but not a single pick in the top 6 (not since 2003 actually) is not rebuilding.

Trading a 1st and 2nd for no knees Blake Griffin is not rebuilding.

Holding onto Andre Drummond until the very last possible second when you have no leverage is not rebuilding.

Letting KCP walk in free agency is not rebuilding.

I could go on and on and on. The Pistons haven't rebuilt since I was in high school.

And now they have a new GM and it's status quo?

If you can't see the difference between what Troy Weaver has done in 1 week versus what Dumars (post 2006), SVG, and Bower did then we're never going to see eye to eye on this. I'm not going to hold 15 years of mediocre, poorly managed basketball against Weaver when he's finally doing it right.

You realize that we didn't even HAVE a GM for the last 2 years because Gores was so against a rebuild that nobody wanted the job? We had someone keeping the seat warm and treading water so Daddy Gores could shoot T-shirts out of a cannon and milk whatever he could out of the first couple seasons at LCA.

So yeah, call me crazy but I'm actually excited to have a GM with an actual track record tearing this shitty organization down and starting over.

 

[Mitchrapp]

That's not the point. And I do know how the NBA works. But 12 years. Who wants to watch a 12 win team. Even if there are young kids to watch and there is no guarantee a 'rebuild' will make the team better down the road. It could be like the King where their rebuild failed miserably. And stuck on average.

 

[everyoneneedsasmil]

I said it before, but the most important question to ask with each signing is whether the contract is movable. Grant is being paid 20M per year, but that number doesn't mean what it used to. That's exactly the kind of cap hit you need to facilitate bigger trades (taking back big salaries getting picks). Grant also isn't a nobody, he's a great defender who may have become a quality shooter. Those guys get paid, and contenders are always looking for them.

Grant is tradeable when this team is ready to turn over the reins to young guys, and a decent vet who makes the game easier (takes on the toughest opponent) for his teammates.

 

[everyoneneedsasmil]

That's not the point. And I do know how the NBA works. But 12 years. Who wants to watch a 12 win team. Even if there are young kids to watch and there is no guarantee a 'rebuild' will make the team better down the road. It could be like the King where their rebuild failed miserably. And stuck on average.

You're literally describing the last decade of Pistons basketball (stuck on average). Nobody wants to watch the team whether they win 12 or 35 games. Does it hurt to try a different approach?

 

[Mitchrapp]

Maybe it doesn't but our last title wasn't based on a rebuild. The Bucks are winning now without a rebuild, just one bad season and then they selected Jabari Parker at #2. Certainly no excitement there. It didn't work for Joe Dumars because he was an idiot.