2012 NBA Free Agency: Players the Detroit Pistons Should Target After NBA Lockout

The Detroit Pistons were in a bad spot after last season’s end. No postseason berth, nothing much to smile about and the hope of the future of the franchise rested in the arms of a few young men most recently brought into the organization and a draftee that at the moment did not seem objective about his destination.

Soon after, Brandon Knight would clear up his reaction to his name being called as the first draft pick to the struggling Detroit Pistons’ franchise, but the rest of the issues would remain. The Pistons, even with three players from Larry Brown’s 2004 NBA Finals squad, are sitting at the bottom of the league, with new management and a new coach. The purity of those stepping in to fill those big shoes is not so poor after all is said and done, however.

With John Kuester booted and Knight stepping in to fill a role that Detroit has been openly exposed for a lack thereof, the Pistons can also look to some outside help to replace any missing objectives that may haunt the team on their quest to reverse, restore and repeat. The NBA free agency is just the place to start the search for prolonged quality and a renewed reputation.

JJ Barea: Yes, the Detroit Pistons already have their token little guy with Will Bynum, no disrespect intended, but the option Barea gives offensively trumps Bynum’s recent production. As one of the fundamental chunks of the Dallas Mavericks’ series wins over the Portland Trailblazers, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Los Angeles Lakers and eventually the Miami Heat for the NBA Championship, Barea is a feisty undersized player.

He has no problem drawing the contact and does not shy away from pushing towards the middle to get a better angle for a shot. The Pistons could use a player of his courage, stamina and court charisma to push them back to a level which would be acceptable for an Eastern Conference postseason moment or two.

Landry Fields: If the Pistons are planning on a complete rebuild, it means bringing in some players that would normally be considered too questionable to touch….and then you have players like Landry Fields. Fields sits in the middle of players who are not reliable enough to snag a starting job in a legit basketball organization and those who have so much potential it would be criminal not to start them immediately.

The young shooting guard needs a lot more reps before anyone can truly gauge his execution and how instrumental he can be during those big moments, but it is worth a shot on the Pistons’ behalf. He is a young, energetic, quick, intelligent player that has no problem being injected anywhere in a team’s offense and contributing the best way he possibly can.

The Pistons have shooting guards Richard Hamilton, Tracy McGrady and Ben Gordon, who has been rumored on his way out more than a couple of times this past season. Both Hamilton and McGrady are aging and most will agree neither one has much more in the tank to endure an era of restructuring.

You may have a question after reading this. How in the heck are we going to talk about free agency when an entire season could be lost? Well, even though the owners and the players could not get themselves together fast enough for the season to start on time, it does not mean that there are not still questions that must be answered.

The Detroit Pistons can reap the benefits of a fair deal on behalf of the players, but when the season is actually reinstated, they will have much bigger fish to fry like actually earning those paychecks.  They may not be playing, but the wheels of prediction, preseason analysis and “what you should do” article titles are still rolling.