Detroit Pistons: 1 spot left for training camp, who gets it?

4. Stanley Johnson back home with Detroit Pistons

Miss him?

In 2015, the Pistons took Stanley Johnson out of Arizona with the No. 8 pick in the NBA draft. Five spots later (as most Detroit fans know), the Phoenix Suns selected Michigan native Devin Booker.

At 6-foot-6, 242-pounds, Johnson switched between small and power forward during an undistinguished three and a half seasons in Detroit. He was traded in February, 2019 to New Orleans as part of the Thon Maker deal.

Johnson has spent the past two seasons with the Toronto Raptors where, despite all of their injury and health protocol problems, he still did not play a lot. He did start 13 games last season, but finished the year with a 4.4 points average.

He is not much of an outside shooter, despite what former Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy thought, as he is making just 29.8-percent of his three-point attempts during his career.

However, he is not afraid to stick his nose inside and do the dirty work. Coach Dwane Casey likes those kind of players.

Outside of Isaiah Stewart, the Pistons really do not have one of those ‘grinders’ who enjoys mixing it up with the big guys. Johnson can do that.

Although a good portion of the fan base might be up in arms about it, having Johnson back for a little reunion could be a good idea.

3. Want a shooter? JJ Redick

You do not have to work in the Pistons analytics department to know that Detroit’s biggest weakness is outside shooting. They were bad last year, and even worse in summer league (not counting Cade Cunningham).

For an instant fix of the outside shooting problem, one name on the available free agent list pops up immediately: JJ Redick.

One of the greatest three-point shooters of all time, Redick played for New Orleans and then (despite his objections) the Mavericks last season, before his season ended due to injuries.

The first question in getting Redick is, would he want to come to Detroit?

He is 37-years-old and, despite playing on some very good teams with the 76ers and Clippers, has never been even in an NBA finals. Redick might want to be on a contender.

Of course, the same might have been said of Wayne Ellington last year, a similar type of player to Redick. But, he did sign with Detroit (and parlayed a good season into a contract with the Lakers).

Redick has said he will not commit to any team until near training camp. Who knows what the market will be at that point?

Right now, the Pistons three-point shooting is pretty spotty from the guard position. Killian Hayes, Saben Lee and Cory Joseph are not exactly snipers, Rodney McGruder never plays and Cade Cunningham is a rookie.

Frank Jackson, in a few months with the team, was pretty good, but he was never known as a shooter until then.

Redick is a career 44.7-percent three-point shooter on high volume. Yes, he is old and probably not the player he was, but his outside shot still must be respected.

When Redick is on the court, he will not be left unguarded. That helps Detroit avoid double-teaming of Jerami Grant or Cunningham.

If GM Troy Weaver is looking for a floor-spacer, Redick is the biggest name he could have come to training camp, see if he still has his deadly outside shot.