The Detroit Pistons are already having one of their best offseasons in memory after finally getting the number one pick in the NBA Draft.
The Pistons are expected to choose Cade Cunningham, who looks like he could be the next superstar in the NBA.
The Pistons already have several very good complementary players in Jerami Grant, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart, Josh Jackson and Mason Plumlee, so their “restoration” could be coming sooner than expected. Could the Pistons make the playoffs next season? It’s not out of the question.
This is especially true if they can fill some of their biggest offseason needs, the biggest of which is shooting.
The Pistons were near the bottom of the league in 3-point shooting last season, something they need to remedy if they want to make a leap as a team. The defense was already top-10 in points allowed, but the offense was terrible, so adding a dynamic shot maker like Cunningham and the right mix of free agent shooters might be enough to push Detroit into the conversation.
Detroit Pistons: How much cap space will the Pistons have this offseason?
The matter of Pistons’ cap space gets complicated, as there are a lot of potential moving parts.
To avoid being mansplained to death on Twitter, I am going to avoid this speculation until the dust has settled, but here is a good primer.
It’s likely that they will be operating as an over-the-cap team, so they will have the full mid-level exception which should be $9.5 million according to Hoops Rumors.
So even if the Pistons end up with no cap space, they should still be able to offer a contract in the range of 4 years/$41 million using the MLE. They could split that among a few players or offer it all to one guy.
If they do the latter, there is a free-agent shooter who might make sense.
Detroit Pistons: Doug McDermott could be the free-agent shooter the Pistons need
Troy Weaver has already said that the Pistons were unlikely to be big players in free agency, so fans thinking they are going to land a star should probably temper their expectations.
But now that the Pistons are hopefully getting their star in the draft, they really just need to keep adding role players that fill needs.
The Pistons already have a lot of long, athletic defenders who can’t shoot, so adding a guy who can makes sense.
Doug McDermott could be that guy, as he is coming off the best season of his career, averaging 13.6 points, mostly in a bench role for the Indiana Pacers.
McDermott is over 40 percent from long range for his career and is the perfect type of player to put around guys like Killian Hayes and Jerami Grant, who can get into the lane and set up shooters when the defense collapses.
McDermott is not known as a great defender but he at last has size at 6-foot-7 and has shown himself to be comfortable in the type of complementary role he would have with the Detroit Pistons.
It’s difficult to say what McDermott is looking for in free agency, or how much his next contract will be, but it will likely be in the range of the MLE. Would McDermott want to join an up and coming team at age 29 or is he looking to chase rings right now?
If it’s the former and not the latter, then he is a fit with the second unit.
Detroit Pistons: Free agent Doug McDermott would give the Pistons the bench shooting they lack
If the Pistons draft Cunningham, they will have a ton of lineup options, as he is a versatile player who can play four spots and fits with just about anyone.
A starting five of Cunningham, Hayes, Bey, Grant and either Stewart or Plumlee is most likely, which leaves a bench of Josh Jackson, Hamidou Diallo (if he re-signs), Frank Jackson (ditto), Sekou Doumbouya, Saben Lee and whoever they add.
You might have noticed a lot of redundancy off the bench, as Josh Jackson, Diallo, Doumbouya, and Lee are not very good 3-point shooters and Frank Jackson is only just getting there and hasn’t proven himself just yet.
That unit desperately needs someone who can spread the floor, so McDermott makes a lot of sense coming off the bench with a bunch of slashers who can beat people off the dribble and get to the rim.
The Pistons might not yet be at the point where they should be fine-tuning their roster with guys like McDermott, but getting the number one pick has sped up the timeline and this team could be good very soon.
If the Pistons can land a shooter to go along with what they already have, they will be on their way to climbing back to the top of the Eastern Conference.