Did Detroit Pistons really overpay for Mason Plumlee and Jerami Grant?

The Detroit Pistons paid a lot to acquire center Mason Plumlee and forward Jerami Grant. Was it an overpay? Or, simply the fact a ‘rebuilding team’ has to overpay to lure players?

Judging the free agent signings of the Detroit Pistons is like seeking a new job.

Imagine you are applying for a job in your field, and you receive two solid offers:

1. It is from a very prestigious firm, and the main office is in a very glamorous locale. There are people at the company you have long admired and would be excited to work with. There might even be some award-winning glory you can be a part of soon.
2. It is a very respectable firm, although it has not done well lately. The city you would be based in is nice, but not chock full of celebrities. The path to prominence in the company will be quick if you perform well. And the firm guarantees you a lot more money that Job Offer 1.

Which one would you chose?

The answer is … either 1 or 2 is correct. Every individual has their own priorities, as to what they are looking for in a job.

When it comes to NBA free agency, the same rules apply. Some players only care about winning a championship, or are really interested in playing with a certain player (usually named LeBron).

Other players realize that NBA careers are short. They want to play as much as possible, and maximize their money-making abilities. They know they’re one bad injury away from being finished.

The Detroit Pistons appear to be signing two players as free agents who definitely fall into Job Offer 2 in Mason Plumlee and Jerami Grant.

Both come to the Motor City from the Western Conference finalist Denver Nuggets. The Lakers beat the Nuggets in five games. However, if not for a last-second shot by Anthony Davis, Denver would have held a 2-1 lead and who knows how that might have changed the series.

According to reports, Plumlee signed a three-year contract for $25 million. Grant, who was a standout in the playoffs for the Nuggets, is receiving $60 million over three years.

That is a lot of money to pay for players who were more or less role players on their former team. They also each play a position in which the Pistons are not hurting for bodies. In case you had not heard, Detroit has tried to corner the center and power forward market.

One thing to consider is, if they did not get a big offer in terms of money and opportunity, would Grant and Plumlee have brought their talents to Detroit?

To entice a player who was on one the top four teams in the NBA last year, what can a team that did not even get invited to the Orlando Bubble offer that Denver could not?

Playing time and money.

Each case is different, so let us look at Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee individually and then decide, given the overall circumstances, was it an overpay or will Detroit get value for its money.

Did Detroit overpay for Mason Plumlee?

The instant reaction on Social Media to the Detroit Pistons giving Mason Plumlee a three-year, $25 million contract was not exactly positive when the news broke Friday night.

Now that there have been a lot more signings, and the Pistons roster situation is a little bit clearer, it might be time to revisit how the contract looks.

The two main objections to the signing seem to be: 1. The center spot is not a position of need for the Pistons. 2. You are giving a lot of money to Mason Plumlee.

As to the first point, at the time of the signing, center Dewayne Dedmon was expected to be on the team. He had been part of the Tony Snell trade with Atlanta.

Dedmon was eventually released, and the remaining money on his contract stretched over five years for salary cap relief.

Then, Tony Bradley (picked up in a trade with Utah) was traded on Sunday afternoon to the Philadelphia 76ers for guard Zhaire Smith.

At the moment (and we know it could change any hour), the Pistons have at center Plumlee, first-round pick Isaiah Stewart  and free agent signee Jahlil Okafor (who they got for the minimum).

Looking at those names, are the Pistons really that deep at center?

Stewart is a 20-year-old rookie and Okafor has not been a regular in a lineup since his rookie year with the 76ers (who won 10 games that season).

Weaver promised to keep the Pistons competitive during the ‘retooling’. On opening night, December 22, of those four, who would give Detroit a better chance of winning?

Plumlee, 30, who in seven years in the NBA, has a career averages of 8.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists with a 57.8% shooting percentage. He is a fine passer for a big man, but is not an outside shooting threat.

Stewart, Bradley and Okafor are all young.  All three were also first-round picks, so they have shown potential . Any of them could develop into legitimate NBA starting centers, eventually.

But, for Game 1, Plumlee is head and shoulders above them, figuratively, as a player and deserves to be the starting center.

As for the amount of cash Detroit parked up and dumped on his lawn, that can be debated.

The general consensus could be summed up by the FanSided NBA evaluation:

"“Plumlee will serve in the same role as he did with the Denver Nuggets, and that’s as an overpaid backup center. Why are they committing $25 million to a backup center?”"

First thing to know is, Plumlee is actually taking a pay cut.

The 6-11 center is coming off a three-year deal with Denver that paid him $41 million, according to Spotrac.com.

So Plumlee is going from being paid an average of $13,666,000 a year, down to $8,333,000 for Detroit.

It is true that Plumlee has not been a regular starting center since he was in Portland four years ago. In the Nuggets historic playoff run in the Bubble (first team to rally from 3-1 deficits, two series in a row), Plumlee did not exactly play a key role. He averaged 11 minutes, 2.6 points and 3.3 rebounds.

As for his defense ….. well:

Not optimum in a big moment to get picked off like that.

But compared to other centers signed in free agency, Plumlee does not appear to be wildly overpaid.

According to Spotrac, both Jae Crowder, a sub for title-contending teams and Derrick Favors, usually a starting power forward, each are making about $4 million total more than Plumlee.

Tristan Thompson, former starting center for Cleveland’s championship team, is making about $1 million a year on average more with Boston on a two-year contract, than Plumlee.

Assuming it will take a couple of years for the Pistons to turn into Eastern Conference contenders, Plumlee, who turns 31 in March, will most likely at that point not be one of its main players.

For Plumlee, the incentive to sign with the Pistons is increased playing time  and, most likely, a bigger paycheck.

For Detroit, it appears general manager Troy Weaver is using Plumlee as a stopgap until he sees if any of his young centers develop enough to become a starter for a contending team.

Plumlee is also a movable contract in a couple years Weaver may need in a trade.

So, is Mason Plumlee overpaid? Yeah, a little.

Are the Detroit Pistons overpaying for Jerami Grant?

With $30 million in salary cap space going into the official start of the season, it was expected the Detroit Pistons would make at least one major splash in the free agent market.

It just was not expected whom general manager Troy Weaver decided to make the splash with.

Jerami Grant, a 6-8, 210-pound forward, is signing a deal for three years, worth $60 million. That is a lot of money to pay for what was, arguably, the third or maybe fourth-best player on the Nuggets.

He only made 24 starts in 71 regular season games, and saw his scoring average drop from 13.6 the year before to 12.0 points. He still showed a good touch from the three-point line, nailing 39% of his attempts from beyond the arc.

Despite his height and athletic ability, Grant has never been much of a rebounder, and only averaged 3.5 boards a game last season.

So why is Weaver driving up to Grant’s house and dumping a pile of cash on his front yard?

Because Grant was a Bubble Hero.

Grant moved into the starting lineup once the Nuggets began the playoffs at Disney World. He did not become an offensive star at first, averaging just 11.6 points.

However, it was on the defensive end where Grant really shined. Tall, quick and long-limbed, he made life difficult for Utah’s Donovan Mitchell and the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, as Denver rallied from 3-1 deficits in both series to win.

In the West final against the Lakers, Grant made LeBron James and Anthony Davis work for everything they got. He also got the hot hand on offense, averaging 15.8 points against L.A.

How many players in the NBA can do an equally good job of playing defense on a big man like Davis and a quick guard like George? Answer: Grant.

So why would Grant not want to return to the Nuggets and take another crack at an NBA title?

Because he thinks being on the same team as Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and the blossoming Michael Porter Jr. means he will be an after-thought on offense.

Money was not the issue. Denver, knowing how key Grant is to their team’s title hopes, reportedly told Grant they would match Detroit’s offer. But the offer came at the last moment, when they discovered what Detroit was willing to shell out.

They could not match the opportunity to be the big cheese on an NBA team. They could not offer the amount of shots that he can get in Detroit.

At 26-years-old, Grant, apparently is looking to put his own stamp on a team.

Currently, Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose are the Pistons main offensive weapons. Both are over 30 and either one of them could leave at any moment, if Troy Weaver gets the right offer.

That Grant wants to make the Pistons his own team is all well and good, but is $60 million too much to pay for a guy who has basically been throughout his career a defensive specialist with a decent three-point shot?

To replace Grant, the Nuggets picked up JaMychal Green for the much lower price of $15 million over two years. Both are lean forwards with good jump shots.

Grant is receiving about the same amount of money as Danilo Gallineri  is from the Atlanta Hawks. In average salary, Grant is about equal to what Fred VanFleet is getting to return to Toronto.

Those are two pretty good players to be compared to.

The player most Pistons fans are comparing Grant to is Christian Wood.

A late-season phenom for Detroit, the 6-10 Wood ended up signing with the Houston Rockets for $41 million over three years.

The Pistons could have saved $19 million and just resigned Wood instead of going after Grant. Obviously, the Pistons management valued Grant much higher than Wood.

One could also argue that Plumlee is really Wood’s replacement. With Blake Griffin at power forward, Wood would have started at center, the spot Plumlee will be at.

So, did Detroit overpay for Jerami Grant?: Yes, but it was the only way they were going to get him.

If you think Grant is a key piece for the future, you sign him, even if he has a big price tag. Detroit obviously feels that way.