After nearly two months on the sidelines with a hand injury, Marvin Bagley III could make his return today when the Detroit Pistons take on the Toronto Raptors.
Bagley III has played in just 25 games this season and has been out since early January, but he has been upgraded to “probable” on the official injury report.
This is good news for the Detroit Pistons, who have a lot to figure out with their starting lineups and rotations since adding big man James Wiseman at the trade deadline.
Wiseman has been coming off the bench as the second center, the role Marvin Bagley III has occasionally held, though he did start in half his games before rookie Jalen Duren emerged as the starting center.
Dwane Casey is going to have challenges getting all of these big men minutes, especially since there is a lot of skill crossover with Bagley III and Wiseman, who aren’t likely to share the floor together much if at all.
So these final 22 games will give us a glimpse of how this might work, but if it doesn’t, the Detroit Pistons will have some interesting decisions to make this offseason when it come to Marvin Bagley III and James Wiseman.
Detroit Pistons depth chart: Where does Marvin Bagley III fit?
Jalen Duren has already been ruled out for today’s game against the Raptors, so the big man rotation won’t be nearly as messy today.
Wiseman will likely slide into the starting center role with Isaiah Stewart playing the four and Marvin Bagley III will come off the bench as the second center. But what about when Duren returns?
The Pistons could try to experiment with Wiseman at the four with Duren in the starting five, as Troy Weaver has talked about getting bigger to compete in the Eastern Conference.
That would put MBIII as the backup center, which is a much better spot for him than trying to play power forward, as he has huge limitations on the perimeter on both ends.
But if the Wiseman/Duren experiment doesn’t work, does MBIII get pushed to the third center? If so, $12.5 million is a hefty price tag for a third center and it’s hard to justify the Detroit Pistons having that much payroll tied up in both him and Wiseman.
Of course, both players have had difficulty staying healthy, so it’s possible that all four of the Pistons’ bigs will never be in the lineup at the same time and they are just hedging their bets. That’s a pricey hedge, so there is one other option that comes this offseason.
Could the Detroit Pistons trade Marvin Bagley III?
The Detroit Pistons will enter the offseason with some decisions to make on free agents and player options, but will also have to decide what to do with their surplus of bigs.
They may feel that carrying all four of them has some benefit as insurance against injuries, and maybe coach Casey will find a way to make it all work.
But if not, the Pistons could potentially be wasting a valuable roster spot and $12.5 million on a guy who is the third center. That is not third center money, so the Pistons could try to move MBIII in the offseason.
The question is whether there will be any takers. I am sure the Pistons could find someone to take on Bagley, as he has flashed big-time talent and could be a nice scoring option off the bench for someone who needs a big.
But he hasn’t been able to stay healthy or produce consistently, so the Pistons would likely either have to attach a few second-round picks to move him at this point or take on an equally troubling contract.
With so few games to see how this all works, Detroit won’t have much time to make their decision, so these final 22 games will be crucial to the roster formation going forward.