Detroit Pistons: What will Marvin Bagley III’s next contract look like?

The Detroit Pistons took a flyer on Marvin Bagley III with an eye on the future.

He is still just 22-years-old and has flashed high-end talent, though he’s been wildly inconsistent and needs big improvement in areas of his game.

It was a worthwhile risk for the Pistons, as they only had to give up a couple of second-round picks and two players who were not part of the future plans.

Detroit desperately needs size and athleticism in the front court and Bagley has a better chance of providing that than players who will be picked in the late second-round and probably won’t even make the league.

Bagley has the potential to provide high-ceiling talent for cheap, but what will his next contract look like?

Marvin Bagley III’s next contract with the Detroit Pistons

I think Bagley has shown enough already to get a longer look from the Detroit Pistons, and I am sure they would love to keep him if the price is right.

Bagley will be looking to revamp his career and restore his image and a young team like Detroit is a good place for him to do that, similar to what the Pistons tried to do with Josh Jackson.

If Bagley wants some amount of security, he’ll sign a lowball deal so that he can rebuild his value and still be young enough to get a big contract. I think the Pistons will offer him a deal similar to the one they gave Jackson, somewhere in the 2 years/$10 million range, possibly a touch more.

That would be enough time for Bagley to show he’s a player and give him a chance to get a huge raise on the next deal.

If some other team wants to offer more in restricted free agency, then good luck to them, as Bagley is only worth the flyer if he comes on a low risk/high reward deal.

There is also a chance that Bagley just accepts the qualifying offer, which could vary dramatically depending on how the Pistons use him. Bagley has a clause in his contract that lowers his QO if he doesn’t start a certain number of games.

The QO would drop  to around $7 million, and the Pistons and Bagley might both have motivation to just sign it, let him play out one season and see how it goes. If he wants more years, he’ll have to take less.

I do think it’s likely that Bagley stays in Detroit and hopefully the change in scenery will help him reach his potential on a  value deal for the Pistons.