Detroit Pistons still have an open roster spot: Here's 2 paths they can pursue

A jam-packed Detroit Pistons offseason is finally cooling off. 

In the five weeks since the organization fired previous head coach Monty Williams, they’ve drafted two players, hired a new coach, J.B. Bickerstaff, reshaped the roster with multiple trades and free agent signings, and completed summer league in Las Vegas. 

That doesn’t include the hiring of new president Trajan Langdon at the end of May, and the subsequent hirings he has made to round out his front office. The biggest priorities have been handled, and the organization will now take stock of its summer and evaluate further roster moves as training camp approaches in late September or early October. 

The Pistons still have an open roster spot. They also have roughly $11.5 million in cap space plus their room exception, which is worth up to $7.9 million next season and can be used to sign a player to a deal up to three years. 

Langdon has a decision tree to navigate as the team tries to maximize the last of its resources. Here’s a breakdown of their two options — using the roster spot to sign a player and address a roster need, or carrying the roster spot into the season to give the team more flexibility in the trade market. 

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Sign a player

The free agency pool is uncharacteristically solid this late into July, with multiple players available — including point guards Tyus Jones, Markelle Fultz and wings Luke Kennard and Isaac Okoro — who could fill immediate roles for the Pistons. 

The new collective bargaining agreement, which introduced more punitive consequences for teams paying the luxury tax, has suppressed the middle class since teams are more wary of overspending. Gary Trent Jr., who recently inked a veteran-minimum deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, is among several rotation-caliber players who misread their market and ended up settling for less money than anticipated. Trent’s previous deal with the Toronto Raptors paid him an average of $17.3 million annually. He’ll make $2.6 million next season. 

Eventually, the remaining holdouts will also have to settle. Backup point guard remains the most glaring need for the Pistons, and Jones — who led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio last season while averaging 12 points, 7.3 assists and 41.4% shooting from 3 — was one of the top players at the position entering the summer. 

Jones would fill the role Monte Morris was expected to last season: a steady point guard who takes care of the ball and can space the floor. If the Pistons signed him to the full room exception, his salary would be worth roughly $25 million over three years. 

Fultz isn’t the shooter that Jones is, by percentage or volume. But the 2018 No. 1 overall pick has carved out a career as a reliable scorer and ball-handler. He started 18 games for the Orlando Magic last season and shot 47.2% overall, a down year after making 51.4% of his attempts a season prior. 

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He has averaged more than twice as many assists (4.6) than turnovers (1.9) in his career. Being a sub-30% shooter may make him an awkward fit in some lineups, but he’d give the Pistons insurance in case of an injury in their backcourt. 

The point guard quality thins out after Fultz. Patty Mills is an option if the Pistons want a veteran, and TyTy Washington Jr. and Kira Lewis are recent first-round selections who could be worth a flier. 

Leave the roster spot open

The Pistons lack a traditional point guard, but they may not need one. The offense will run through Cade Cunningham, and Jaden Ivey could handle the remaining minutes as the lead ball-handler when Cunningham sits. 

We can only speculate this far ahead of training camp, but Ivey has flashed playmaking chops in the past and now has a head coach in J.B. Bickerstaff who staggered two lead guards, in Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, while leading the Cleveland Cavaliers. If the Pistons go this route, they will be better positioned to swing another trade before the February deadline. 

Thanks to the new CBA, the room exception and non-taxpayer mid-level exceptions can now be used to acquire a player via trade. In addition to the Pistons’ $11.5 million in remaining cap space, they could also absorb a salary directly into their $7.9 million room exception, which doesn’t count against the cap. Over three years, the incoming salary has to fit within the exception, which increases by 5% each year and would be worth $8.8 million in 2026-27. 

Contending teams aggressively maneuvered this offseason to remain in the title hunt, and more moves will come as financially-strapped teams evaluate their options. Could the Pistons land a rotation player by being a salary dump in a three- or four-team trade? Potentially. 

Langdon entered free agency with several goals, and he checked off most of them. The Pistons added veterans and shooting in Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley. But though they also received three second-round picks with Hardaway, they otherwise have not acquired additional draft capital.

The empty roster spot could eventually be turned into assets, adding incentive for the Pistons to see how their backcourt rotation looks with Cunningham as the sole “pure” point guard.

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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.