Detroit Pistons: 7 biggest free-agent mistakes in team history

Detroit Pistons: 7 biggest free-agent mistakes in team history

Jon Leuer: 4 years/$42 million

Oh, the Jon Leuer era! Talk about out-bidding yourself. Leuer signed this ridiculous deal after having accomplished nothing in the NBA and he managed to do even less for the Pistons. This one was purely speculative, made no sense at the time it happened and even less once you saw Leuer play. He was a “stretch” four who shot 29 percent from 3-point range and was out of the league before he even got a chance to finish his contract. The Pistons have never been a free-agent destination but if you are a mediocre player no-one wants in free agency, you could cash Detroit’s checks for years in this era, which is better forgotten.

Josh Smith: 4 years/$54 million

Speaking of cashing checks for ages, I am pretty sure Josh Smith is still somehow getting paid by the Detroit Pistons after they used the “whoops” provision of the new CBA to cut him and stretch his contract out over an eternity. Just as the 3-point era was being ushered in, the Pistons decided to build their team around three players who couldn’t shoot a lick in Smith, Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe. The sad thing about Smith is that he was actually really good in Atlanta and carried some mediocre Hawks’ teams to the playoffs, but he was miscast in Detroit. He’d probably be a good small-ball center in the modern game, but watching him launch 3-point bricks for Detroit was definitely one of the lowlights of my many years as a fan.