The Detroit Pistons are waiving Cory Joesph, Tyler Cook and Deividas Sirvydis in an apparent attempt to free more cap space.
The move was reported by James Edwards III among others:
Pistons make waiving of Joseph, Cook and Sirvydis official https://t.co/wpMMZ92q3D
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) July 31, 2021
Joseph was not a surprise, as the Pistons traded for him specifically because his contract for next season was not fully guaranteed. His full $12.4 million would have become guaranteed soon, so this move wasn’t a shocker.
Cook was a little more surprising, although I think it was a good move, as the Pistons clearly need shooting and Cook provides none.
The surprising move was dumping Sirvydis, as he was under contract for two more seasons, so the Pistons will eat his $1.52 million to clear a roster spot but not be on the hook for the second year, which was not guaranteed.
How much cap space will the Detroit Pistons have?
According to John Hollinger, the Pistons could have as much as $22 million in cap space after this move depending on how they handle the remaining money.
Pistons can get to about $22 million in room by waiving non-guaranteed Tyler Cook and Rodney McGruder and stretching Joseph/Sirvydis.
— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) July 31, 2021
This is more than originally projected, as the Pistons were able to Trade Mason Plumlee without taking back a contract, which cleared around 8 million.
It didn’t appear as if the Detroit Pistons would be players in free agency entering this offseason, as they still have Blake Griffin’s bloated contract on their books for one more season, but after some savvy dealing, Troy Weaver has managed to clear a significant chunk.
But what will the Detroit Pistons do with this cap space? They have a number of options ranging from the boring to the big splash.
Here are three options for the Pistons’ cap space that make sense.