Detroit Pistons: Anthony Tolliver 2017-18 season outlook

In our series of season outlooks for the players on the 2017-18 Detroit Pistons roster, we’ll go through expectations for each. Next up is Anthony Tolliver.

Anthony Tolliver took a one-year vacation in California. After a stint of nearly two years with the Detroit Pistons, the organization decided to go a different direction last summer when they let him walk in free agency and effectively replaced him with Jon Leuer, whom they paid $40 million over four years.

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Tolliver signed a partially-guaranteed two-year $16 million contract with the Sacramento Kings, and on June 2nd he was released in a move that saved the Kings $6 million in cap space for this season.

On July 14th, the Pistons reversed their course and signed Tolliver to a bargain contract, giving him their bi-annual exception worth $3.29 million in a one-year deal. The Pistons recognized a major deficiency in veteran leadership in the locker room, and it may not be coincidental that the leadership vacuum began when Tolliver departed in the first place.

Tolliver will be more than just a steady and experienced voice for a young team. While he figures to be the second or third big man off the bench, playing primarily either backup or third small or power forward, he’s a skilled shooter. He shot 39.1 percent from three-point range last season for the Sacramento Kings, a rate which would have led the Pistons by a decent margin had he been in Detroit.

Next: Stanley Johnson's season outlook for the Pistons

Tolliver turned 32 this summer, and will likely be playing for contracts on a yearly basis hereafter. As long as he’s able to play his 15-20 minutes of decent defense, shoot threes at a high rate and provide his signature leadership, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Pistons continue to keep him around year-by-year in the future.

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