Grading the Pistons offseason

Apr 4, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson (1), guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5), center Andre Drummond (0), and forward Anthony Tolliver (left) celebrate after the final buzzer against the Miami Heat at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons beat the Heat 99-98. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

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Apr 3, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs power forward Aron Baynes (16) dunks the ball against the Denver Nuggets during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /

This one is hard to justify. Getting Baynes is fine, but the money in this deal is outrageous. Maybe you could argue that this deal isn’t as bad as it appears to be with the salary cap expected to rise, but his player option completely takes the power away from the Pistons. If he outplays his contract, he’ll likely opt-out and become a free agent to get more money. If he doesn’t, the Pistons are stuck with him for another season.

He averaged 16 minutes per game last year for the Spurs, but a lot of those minutes came in games where he started, because the Spurs were resting their players. Take away those games where he played inflated minutes and he’s a pretty mediocre reserve.

That’s tolerable in most cases, but not when you’re paying him $20 million for three years.

This move gets a C-.

Next: Draft Stanley Johnson

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Grading the Pistons offseason

By Duncan Smith | Jul 15, 2015

Sign Aron Baynes to a three year, $20 million deal.