The Detroit Pistons will have limited options in free agency this summer, so it’s important that they retain as many players as possible.
The options that the Detroit Pistons will be limited to in free agency don’t come down to finances, they’ll have around $40 million in cap space to play around with. It comes down to the lackluster pool of players they’ll be able to choose from.
This is why it’s important to keep someone like Thon Maker around.
Though he’s been one of the more divisive players in recent memory for Pistons fans, the prospect of losing out on him could be more significant than most would care to admit.
At 23 years old, he still has potential. Though the former 10th overall pick in the 2016 draft hasn’t quite lived up to the expectations that once surrounded him, he still shows glimpses of progress.
His tremendous length should in theory allow him to go toe to toe with nearly any big man in the league, but so far it hasn’t worked out that way.
Maker’s often finding himself in the middle of defensive lapses, and has often had trouble physically holding on to passes in the low post on offense.
His three-point shooting hasn’t been quite consistent while in Detroit, but it’s been serviceable enough. He’s shooting just 34.4 percent from deep, but has shown he’s capable of having a few games where he’s shooting between 50 and 60 percent.
His post presence isn’t nearly as dominant as most had envisioned, and it’s something that needs to be taken to another level if he’s going to continue to play 20 or so minutes per game.
Referencing back to the aforementioned glimpses of potential, his most recent burst came after the trade involving Andre Drummond.
While Christian Wood wound up being the one to benefit most from this move, at first both he and Maker were playing tremendous basketball.
The five games following the Drummond trade, Maker was averaging 13.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game on 56.8 percent shooting which included 47.1 percent from three-point range.
The Maker and Wood tandem was appropriately named the “Thin Towers”.
His defense was showing significant signs of improvement, averaging 1.6 blocks over that short span, and his game was starting to look like it may turn a corner.
Eventually, he hit a slight regression after his minutes declined.
At the end of the day, how Maker is utilized is what’s the most difficult part. You can’t rely on him to play in the post because he’s generally not going to out muscle opposing bigs. You can’t play him along the perimeter because his three-point shot isn’t totally reliable.
He’s an adequate pick and roll performer, but once he gets the ball to the rim he often has trouble finishing.
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Having said all of that, Detroit still needs to re-sign him this summer.
Maker will be a restricted free agent, so if any team is to offer him a contract, the Pistons can match it and he’ll remain with the team. However, there’s not been much that would indicate there’ll be a huge market for him.
In the event that Detroit is one of his only options, this is beneficial for multiple reasons.
The franchise is officially in rebuild mode. That means you need to take a chance on developing as many assets as possible. Maker is still one of those guys, and they’ll be able to retain him on a const efficient deal.
The market for realistic centers in Detroit this summer is going to be incredibly underwhelming.
There’s no reason not to continue to roll the dice with Maker. At this point, he isn’t stealing minutes away from Wood anymore, and the Pistons likely aren’t going to select a big man in the draft. So, you’re going to need someone to fill those minutes anyway.
Even if it’s only a two year deal with a team option on the second season, Maker should be a Piston next year.