Did Detroit Pistons use mid-level exception to sign Ben Wallace?

The Pistons announced they officially signed Ben Wallace. Given his signing was reported a few weeks ago, this isn’t interesting.

What interests me – and perhaps nobody else, given the comments for my post about the inconsistencies in reporting Will Bynum’s contract – is that Wallace didn’t officially sign until now.

Larry Lage of the Associated Press initially reported the Pistons signed Wallace with the Bi-Annual Exception. I’m hoping they changed their mind and used the Mid-Level Exception instead.

As it’s name suggests, the Bi-Annual Exception can be used every other season. If the Pistons used it on Wallace, it wouldn’t be available to them next year.

It’s become abundantly clear the Pistons won’t use the full amount of the Mid-Level Exception’s starting salary this year. So, why not use a portion of the MLE to sign Wallace? The Pistons will have the full MLE at their disposal next summer regardless (unless they get under the cap).

The Detroit Pistons contract information page has been updated with my suspicions.