The Detroit Pistons inked forward Trey Lyles to a 2 year/$5 million deal to bring his services to the Motor City.
It was hardly a blockbuster deal, as Lyles is not going to be the guy to push the Pistons into playoff contention, but I do think it’s an addition worth exploring.
Lyles’ signing meant the end of the Tyler Cook era in Detroit, which angered some fans who liked Cook’s athleticism and ceiling as a guy who was still only 23-years-old and hasn’t been given much chance so far in the NBA.
But in reality this was an upgrade for a few reasons, and while this move wasn’t a big one, it is symbolic of how the Pistons are trying to build depth for their roster.
Detroit Pistons: Troy Weaver is building his roster around the strengths and weaknesses
The Detroit Pistons were 10th in points allowed last season and 26th in offense. We saw so many games where the Pistons held their opponent to a respectable total only to score 97 points themselves and lose anyway.
It’s clear where the Detroit Pistons needed help and so far this offseason has been dedicated to bringing more offense to Detroit.
The first step was drafting Cade Cunningham, who has superstar potential and should elevate his teammates, especially Saddiq Bey.
The Pistons also signed stretch-four Kelly Olynyk, who was a great addition and should help Cunningham and Killian Hayes develop.
The signing of Trey Lyles was not nearly as important, but it was a also a move to bolster the offense and depth.
Detroit Pistons: Trey Lyles and Tyler Cook have flaws, but it’s which flaws that make the difference
Both Tyler Cook and Trey Lyles have major flaws in their games, which is why they weren’t hugely coveted free agents when they hit the market.
Lyles has never been much of a rebounder and isn’t a guy who is going to score a ton of points or make plays. He’s a pretty good defender, but not elite, so like I said, this was not a major signing.
But he can do one thing the Detroit Pistons need, which is shoot the 3-point shot. The Pistons were abysmal in this area last season, a fact that didn’t stop them from chucking long-range shots anyway, as it is a big part of Dwane Casey’s offense.
To Casey’s credit, his offense often created open looks from 3-point range, but the Pistons just didn’t have anyone to knock them down. Lyles has shot as high as 38.7 percent from long range on nearly three attempts per game, which will give the Pistons another shooter for Casey to utilize off the bench.
Tyler Cook is a better athlete than Lyles and probably has more potential as a shot blocker, but he adds nothing on offense except dunks. He rarely ever shot the ball outside of five feet, so a guy like Cook isn’t going to help Cunningham or Hayes unless they are in transition, otherwise he is just taking up space.
The Detroit Pistons have too much redundancy
With Josh Jackson, Hamidou Diallo and Tyler Cook, the Pistons had three plus athletes, none of whom can shoot from range.
Jackson and Diallo are good defenders and have shown upside as shooters, especially Diallo, who shot 39 percent on low volume after coming to the Pistons in a trade.
The Pistons still haven’t re-signed Diallo, but if they do, there was no place for Tyler Cook, as you can only have so many athletes on the roster who can’t shoot.
Were you really looking forward to a bench unit with three high-flying bricklayers? Me either.
Trey Lyles at least gives the Detroit Pistons some variety of skillset, as they have a guy who can hit the pick-and-pop 3-point shot at a fairly high rate.
Lyles also has more experience than Cook, who has barely played in the NBA in his two seasons even though he’s been on four different teams.
Lyles comes from the Spurs, so you know he has been well coached and will know his role and how to fulfill it.
This was not a splashy move, but it shows Troy Weaver is being smart when filling out his roster depth and is trying to get his young guards more offensive weapons.