Before they were Pistons: Where the bench veterans came from tells a lot

The bench for the Detroit Pistons has not produced as expected so far. If you look at what those players did before arriving in the Motor City, it might give you a clue as to why.

NBA teams do not usually just give away good players, unless the executive is an incompetent and gets fired (which has occurred in Detroit, but that is another story). Sometimes due to injuries, age or general reputation for having a bad attitude, a team might grab a player at a lower cost than their talent-level, but it is not the norm.

In the pre-season, there was a lot of excitement about the Pistons bench. In scrimmages and exhibition games, they did indeed look good. It seemed mostly a bunch of savvy vets who knew how to play. Because it was assumed they could prop up the young core, coach Dwane Casey could then go with an inexperienced starting lineup, in which Jerami Grant is the only player with more than two years in the league.

However, the bench has not produced as expected, which is a major reason the Pistons have gotten off to such a rocky start. Injuries have been a factor, particularly center/forward Kelly Olynyk being out for six weeks with a knee sprain, but the second team was not knocking off any socks when he did play, as they had a 3-9 record when Olynyk got hurt..

It leads one to look at exactly who is coming off the bench, and how they got here. Maybe, just as importantly, how much are they getting paid. To expect a player on a minimum salary to outplay someone making $10 million could be too much to ask.

To keep a lot of salary cap space open for next off-season, and the fact there is a lot of dead money this year on the books (mostly Blake Griffin’s contract), general manager Troy Weaver drove some very hard bargains, a big reason the Hamidou Diallo signing took so long.

The fact players took it might have been a warning sign. If they could not get a better offer from the 29 other teams, what does that say?

Here is a look at all the Detroit Pistons players who came here from other teams, who do not start regularly (i.e. not Jerami Grant). We will concentrate of how they did with their old team and what their current salary is with Detroit.

All salary info is courtesy of Spotrac.

Frank Jackson

The guard was a revelation at the end of last season, shooting 40-percent from three-point land. But he was available because the Oklahoma City Thunder had cut him on December 21 (Merry Christmas!) after just three weeks and not playing an NBA game. The New Orleans Pelicans had let him go at the end of the 2019-20 season.

Jackson had never been a good three-point shooter previously, shooting just 31.9% in New Orleans. So far, despite a great game against the Wizards, he has reverted back to his Pelicans days, making just 32-percent of his threes.

Jackson not looking like his end of the season version, has really hurt the bench unit.

Salary: Jackson is making $3 million this year and the team has an option for the following season. For a league where three-point shooters who can not much else players, like Doug McDermott are getting huge contracts, if Jackson can regain his shooting touch, this is a bargain. If he does not, he will be looking for another team next season, as the Pistons have enough guards who can’t shoot.

Trey Lyles

Lyles is pretty much matching his career numbers, which has made him one of the better subs for Detroit. That is more a comment on the other players, playing below-average.

Lyles was brought in to help with the three-point shooting, but he is shooting a pathetic 28.8% from three. It is not like he is making up for it on the defensive end:

Pushed into the role of backup big since the Olynyk injury, Lyles has not given the Spurs any reason to think they made a mistake letting him walk. He has had some moments, but a player of his pedigree (picked 12th overall in 2015 draft by Utah, Phoenix then took Devin Booker at No. 13), should be more than ‘sometimes OK’ on a team with the worst record in the league.

The San Antonio Spurs are recognized as having one of the best eyes for talent in the league. After two years there, mostly as a starter, they wanted nothing to do with him.

Neither did the rest of the NBA apparently.

Salary: Lyles, who has publicly said he considers Detroit a ‘horrible’ city, signed with the Pistons for a paltry $2.5 million this year (half of what he made last season), with a club option for the following season. Considering the low salary, his other options were probably very limited.