Detroit Pistons: Top 5 most ‘Trust Troy’ moves of the off-season

2. Mason Plumlee salary dump trade

If this trade does not work out, literally the Hammer of Thor will be brought against the Detroit Pistons.

On NBA Draft Day, before Cade Cunningham got selected, it was announced that the Pistons were sending starting center Mason Plumlee and the 37th pick in the draft (Yes, the same spot two years earlier they had spent three picks to move up to) to the Charlotte Hornets for the 57th overall pick in the draft.

With the 37th pick, the Hornets selected JT Thor, a very promising young forward out of Auburn.

Many mock drafts had Thor going late in the first round, so this was a steal for Charlotte. Their starting center, Cody Zeller, was a free agent so Plumlee will slip right into his spot in the lineup. A very good trade for the Hornets.

Plumlee had a good season for the Pistons, averaging 10 points, nine rebounds, a fine passer out of the post and created great picks for Jerami Grant to use. In terms of level of expectations, Plumlee probably exceeded them.

This trade was obviously lopsided. It was the classic salary dump. Detroit had no problem with Plumlee, they just needed to get rid of the $8 million he was owed for next season.

Only Grant made more money, and Detroit was not getting rid of him. Plumlee was a victim of all the dead money Detroit had piled up, particularly carrying the last year of Blake Griffin’s contract. This upcoming season, 34-percent of the Pistons payroll will be ‘dead money’.

Because no one else except Grant had a contract for more than $6 million for next season, Plumlee basically had to be sacrificed. And Weaver still had to attach a juicy draft choice to get Charlotte to accept the trade.

With the 57th pick the Pistons got back, they drafted Balsa Koprivica, a center out of Florida State who will play in Europe this season.

Most of the opened up cap space was used to sign forward-center Kelly Olynyk. Unlike Plumlee, he can shoot from the three-point line, opening up the middle more, at least that’s the theory.

Olynyk is making $12 million a year, so Plumlee’s salary did not cover the whole thing. Olynyk is a nice player, maybe a better fit, but he is 30, so not part of the young core.

Maybe Olynyk is an upgrade on Plumlee, but it was still a high cost to make room for his salary.  If Thor goes on to hammer the opposition in a successful NBA career, this move will be looked back at as a mistake.

Another ‘Trust in Troy’ move.

No. 1: A Detroit-hater comes to Motor City

There was a lot of publicity when Jalen Green said he found the city of Detroit boring, and only wanted to go to the Pistons because of the honor of being the No.1 overall draft pick.

Naturally, this statement was not taken well in Detroit. When Green comes in with the Houston Rockets, he will be booed lustily.

However, Green is a player on another team. Imagine a player actually wearing a Pistons uniform saying Detroit was a terrible place.

Well, Troy Weaver actually signed one, using the salary cap space that the Pistons had left.

In the biggest head-scratcher of the off-season. Detroit inked Trey Lyles to a two-year, $5 million contract (second year a team option).

Lyles fell out of the rotation of the San Antonio Spurs, and they had little interest in bringing him back when he became a free agent.

Detroit is his fourth team since being selected No. 12 overall in the 2015 draft by Utah (having missed out on Lyles,  Phoenix would settle for Devin Booker at No. 13)..

Lyles is a career 34.1-percent three-point shooter, so he really does not help the Pistons in that area. What he brings to the table is to be seen. Is Lyles really an upgrade on Sekou Doumbouya?

But forget the basketball stuff, what makes this No. 1 is Lyles does not like the city of Detroit: As he said several years ago, when asked what his least favorite cities were on a Richard Jefferson podcast:

"Lyles, who grew up in Indianapolis after moving from Canada as a 7-year-old, rattled off four cities: Detroit, Memphis, Milwaukee and Sacramento (“It’s horrible,” he said)."

Detroit seemed to be No. 1 on his horrible city list. (Ironically, Mason Plumlee, then with Denver, was also on that podcast, but he had no hate for Detroit)

So Lyles does not like Detroit. OK fine, its a free country. Yet Lyles is coming to a city he thinks is terrible. Why? Look at the bargain basement price … no one else wanted him.

Troy Weaver figured he was getting a serviceable big with a decent outside shot for a low price. Not a great idea, but a reasonable one.

But Weaver has also stated many times wanting high character people, particularly  players who can represent the city of Detroit. Lyles has trashed Detroit, so not much of a representative.

Signing Trey Lyles is, undoubtedly, the top ‘Trust in Troy’ moment of this off-season.

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