Should Detroit Pistons punt on tough roster decisions?

There is a crowd of players are looking to gain a spot on the Detroit Pistons roster. The team can make some tough choices now, or simply punt and delay until training camp.

While there has been much discussion about who will be the Detroit Pistons roster with the draft, free agency and summer league all coming one on top of another, officially, the Pistons have a long time before they need to make final decisions.

While much has been made that Detroit would have 16 guaranteed contracts if they sign current restricted free agent Hamidou Diallo.

It is true that NBA teams can only have 15 players on its roster, once the season begins. However, a team’s roster is pretty flexible in the off-season, so teams can look at free agents and form summer league teams. So, if Diallo (or anyone else) is signed in the near future, no corresponding move has to immediately be made to make a spot available.

When do the Detroit Pistons really have to make roster decisions?

The first real time general manager Troy Weaver has to make any roster decisions is at training camp. Only 20 will be allowed to participate.

NBA Key roster dates:

• September 28 – Training camp begins
• October 17 – Projected cut down date
• October 19 – NBA regular season begins

With 15 roster spots on the NBA team, plus two two-way contracts available, only three players will actually be cut in training camp (unlike the bloodbath of 37 per each NFL team).

But that also means Detroit management has to be quite choosy on who gets a camp invite. There will be no such thing as a ‘camp body’.

The good news is that, unlike last season’s rushed camp, Pistons coach Dwane Casey will have two weeks to work with the players and look at what he has to make informed roster decisions.

It also means that other teams can get a good look at their players and see what they need. If there is a deal out there to made, you know Weaver will not hesitate to pull the trigger.

Assuming Diallo eventually signs with the Pistons (with almost all NBA teams exhausting their cap space, a good bet), according to Spotrac, Detroit would have 16 players with guaranteed contracts (not including Deividas Sirvydis, who is owed $15. million even though he was released).

Detroit still have decisions to make on two of its draft picks as well: Luka Garza (otherwise known as summer league Bill Laimbeer 2.0) and Balsa Koprivica. The other two draftees, Cade Cunningham and Michigan’s Isaiah Livers, have inked contracts.

Putting a player on the new Motor City Cruise in the G-League does not relieve the roster pressure. It is the contract, not where they are playing, that counts on the NBA roster. G-League, Exhibit 10 and two-ways, pay much less than even a minimum NBA salary.

If the NBA has the same roster deadline as last season, teams need to submit opening day rosters just 48 hours before their first game.

So, the Pistons have until basically mid-October to get their roster in shape and slimmed down for the season.

Do the Detroit Pistons have some tough decisions to make on the makeup of their team? Yes.

Do they have to do it soon? No.

Sometimes, the smart move is to punt, and push the decision for another day.