Pistons: Using salary averages to predict Hamidou Diallo’s next deal

One of the toughest decisions the Detroit Pistons have to make this offseason is whether to retain Hamidou Diallo and how much to pay him.

The Pistons traded for Diallo just before last season’s deadline, acquiring him from the OKC Thunder in exchange for Svi Mykhailiuk.

Troy Weaver was part of the team that drafted Diallo and thinks he can be a star, so it’s likely he’d like to keep him around to find out.

Diallo was up and down for the Detroit Pistons in his short time with the team, as he had a couple of big games where he showed flashes of what he can be, but also struggled with injuries and consistency.

But Diallo is a guy who has gotten better every year he’s been in the league, is an electric athlete and has the ability to be an elite defender, things we know the Pistons are looking for.

He’s also got some big flaws in his game, which is why it is difficult to predict exactly how much Diallo is going to get in free agency.

If some other team makes him a big offer, the Detroit Pistons might walk away, so I tried to take a guess at what it will take to retain Hamidou Diallo using some similar players.

Detroit Pistons: Using salary averages to predict what Hamidou Diallo will get

I looked at six players who all average right around the same number of points as Hamidou Diallo to get an idea of what he might make.

Even though these players are all at different stages in their respective careers, they all have some similarities to Diallo in that they have big flaws but can be impact players.

Kevin Huerter, Davis Bertans, Bobby Portis, Immanuel Quickley, Rudy Gay and Lou Williams all averaged between 11.3 and 11.9 points, same as Hamidou Diallo.

Some are on rookie deals, some on their second contract and some are veterans who have earned bigger paychecks. Since Diallo falls right into the middle of these guys when it comes to age and standing in the league, getting an average of their salaries should give us some indication of what Diallo can get.

When you average these six salaries it comes out to just over $8 million per season which seems about right for a guy like Hamidou Diallo.

If the Detroit Pistons can retain him for $8 million per season over 3-4 years this could end up representing one of the best value contracts in the NBA, as Diallo keeps getting better and still has another level or two to reach.

It will be interesting to see what the Pistons end up doing with Diallo, but this salary average is a pretty good indication of what they’ll offer.