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ESPN critical of Pistons’ offseason in summer grades

By Duncan Smith

DETROIT, MI - JULY 26: The Detroit Pistons introduce two new uniforms by Nike on July 26, 2017 at the Nike Store in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - JULY 26: The Detroit Pistons introduce two new uniforms by Nike on July 26, 2017 at the Nike Store in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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ESPN’s offseason grades have been posted for the Eastern Conference, and they come down harshly on the Detroit Pistons’ summer.

The Detroit Pistons had a fairly dreadful 2016-17 season, and to hear the major national outlets talk about it you might think the 2017-18 season will be even worse. Whether it be Bleacher Report, ESPN or the Dunc’d On podcast, reviews of the Pistons’ offseason have been less than glowing.

Perhaps the most critical panning of their summer came in the form of ESPN’s Eastern Conference offseason grades. Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insiders (pay wall) gave the Pistons a D grade for their transactions with an eye cast in the direction of their overpayment of Langston Galloway.

"A history of overpaying role players — a tradition that continued with a three-year, $20 million deal for backup guard Langston Galloway — finally caught up with the Pistons this summer, as luxury-tax concerns were a factor in them walking away from restricted free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope."

Stan Van Gundy has philosophy that requires paying marginal free agents more than their worth on the open market to get them to come to Detroit. While there may be some merit to this strategy, it does lead to scenarios where the Pistons are paying Jon Leuer $10 million annually, or where they hard cap themselves by paying more than the taxpayer’s mid-level exception of $5.2 million to Langston Galloway.

Related Story: Langston Galloway's season outlook for the Pistons

Galloway got about $6.7 million first year salary, and it’s very likely given the nature of the free agent market this summer that they could have gotten him for less than the taxpayer’s MLE. Going over that threshold is a decision they’ll have to live with for the rest of the season because they cannot exceed the tax apron of $125 million, which they are about $10 million shy of currently.

"Detroit replaced Caldwell-Pope with Avery Bradley, a move that cost another starter (forward Marcus Morris). Now the Pistons will have to try to re-sign Bradley as an unrestricted free agent next summer, when he’s due a huge raise."

The biggest move of the summer for the Pistons was the trade of Marcus Morris for Avery Bradley, which allowed them to move on from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and his looming restricted free agency. There is a significant inherent risk in that they don’t have team control over Bradley next year, but he’s an upgrade on the court over KCP. They can also pay him more next year than any other team, so if they win, the Pistons may still be a significant favorite to retain him.

Next: Playoffs or bust for Pistons in 2018

All in all, fair points are made in this piece, although D seems overly harsh when you look at an offseason in which they dealt with their most significant shortcomings from a year ago.

How would you grade the Detroit Pistons’ offseason, and what elements do you consider most important?