Should the Detroit Pistons consider signing Darren Collison?

The Detroit Pistons are struggling to stay healthy and Darren Collison could be the boost they need to create depth and make a playoff push.

After a surprising retirement during the summer instead of inking a new contract, Darren Collison is considering a comeback. It could be a fruitful move for the Detroit Pistons to add the veteran point guard.

Collison, 32, was expected to sign a contract worth upwards of $10 million annually, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, but surprisingly retired. Wojnarowski reports that Collison is looking to return in February, likely after the trade deadline and that championship contenders in Los Angeles – the Clippers and Lakers – are chief among his preferred destinations.

The Pistons could use his services, perhaps more than any team in the league. The veteran fits the mold of what the Pistons are looking for under Dwane Casey – a sharpshooter (39.4% from 3-point range for his career) that is a solid distributor (26.6% career assist rate).

Collison would add depth to the Pistons (12-22), who sit three games behind the Orlando Magic for the Eastern Conference’s eighth playoff spot. Provided he’s healthy and in great playing shape, he could be the punch the Pistons need to climb the playoff ladder.

Reggie Jackson played the first two games of the season but has been sidelined ever since, missing 32 games and no return in sight. He was expected to be re-evaluated by the team’s medical staff in mid-December, the team announced, but there wasn’t an update provided.

Jackson’s absence has been missed. When he’s been healthy for a full season, the Pistons have made the playoffs both times in 2016 and 2019. With his contract expiring at season’s end, the Pistons could move on from Jackson by the trade deadline or this summer.

Plug Collison in sometime in February and Detroit’s outlook looks a lot brighter, even with the toughest schedule in March looming. It may be a necessary move with limited trade assets and an injury-ridden roster that has seen Blake Griffin, a 2018-19 All-NBA selection, out for 14 of the team’s 34 games.

Signing a proven ball-handler would allow Bruce Brown to play comfortably within his defensive specialist role. Though Brown has seen an uptick in scoring as a result of shooting 36.4% from 3-point range, he’s also been a marginal ball-handler with a 19.1% assist rate and 18.9% turnover rate. Collison would be a better point guard and would be a stop-gap to allow Brown to better develop those skills in the offseason.

Though it’s hard to imagine Collison running with the starters immediately, which would leave Derrick Rose as the starting point guard. He recently vocalized his desire for a greater workload, averaging 24.4 minutes per game while on a 25-to-27 minute pitch count on a nightly basis.

In Rose’s only game as a starter, it didn’t go well. He was 3 for 13 in a 120-114 loss against Minnesota, scoring six points to go with five assists, three rebounds, two steals, one block and zero turnovers. The fact that he didn’t turn the ball over and was able to set other guys up is something to build on. But he didn’t look comfortable with that unit.

It may be what the Pistons need moving forward, at least until Collison would be able to slide in to the starting unit having learned Casey’s offense. Even then, the timing would be difficult to establish that relationship and chemistry with the Pistons.

Detroit would also have to create a roster spot. Perhaps Tim Frazier, who is on a one-year minimum contract, is an option. Though he’s proven a valuable commodity, shooting 41.7% from 3-point range and starting eight games this season.

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Khyri Thomas could be another option. He hasn’t been healthy this season, having surgery on his right foot in November, and hasn’t been off to a good start as a rookie. He shot 28.6% from 3-point range and 31.9% overall. Most importantly, he’s missing a year of development under Casey and his staff.

The Detroit Pistons could use Collison but would he even entertain a return to basketball in Detroit? Every player wants to win, so it makes sense he’d want to join the Clippers, who he played with in 2013-14, and the Lakers. But he’s also from Rancho Cucamonga, which is outside of Los Angeles.

Collison ultimately retired due to his religion, so would he even make a return to the NBA if it weren’t for a championship contender in his hometown?

“While I still love basketball, I know there is something more important, which is my family and my faith. I am one of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and my faith means everything to me,” he told The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears last summer.

“I receive so much joy from volunteering to help others and participate in a worldwide ministry. The joy I feel is unmatched.”

Ultimately, Collison would be an asset to an injury-ridden roster. But it seems unlikely that Detroit is the destination Collison lands.