The Detroit Pistons will enter the 2023 offseason with enough cap space to make a splash in free agency.
But as we are all well aware, who they don’t sign is almost as important as who they do, as the Pistons have had a nasty habit of overpaying players in free agency and have a rich history of paying the wrong guys.
This summer they’ll be looking for free agents who can help them get back into the playoffs, but they must avoid paying role players too much or mistakenly thinking a guy is better than he really is based on little evidence.
Troy Weaver has to avoid the mistakes of the past, and he has plenty of examples to learn lessons from. Here are seven of the worst free-agent mistakes in team history, let’s hope we don’t add to the list this offseason.
Detroit Pistons: 7 biggest free-agent mistakes in team history
Nazr Mohammed: 4 years/$25 million
Anytime you can pay a backup center who rarely plays like he is the star of the team, you have to do it! That was the Pistons’ motto back in 2006-7 when they signed Mohammed to be their starting center and then he ended up playing 15 minutes a game for them and doing squat. He barely stepped on the floor in the playoffs and the Pistons had to dump him in the offseason for Primož Brezec and Walter Herrmann, two guys who never played for the team. To his credit, Mohammed had a very long career as a journeyman role player in the NBA, but he can thank the Detroit Pistons for setting him up financially.
Detroit Pistons: 7 biggest free-agent mistakes in team history
Bison Dele: 7 years/$45 million
Bison Dele was a very talented played and I’ve actually referred to him as one of the most underrated Pistons off all time.
He was a big man who could score around the rim, put the ball on the floor and rebound but he only played two of those SEVEN years for Detroit before quitting the NBA and eventually dying in mysterious and tragic fashion.
It’s wild to think about a seven-year contact now, but these lengthy deals were one of the big reasons the NBA had to limit teams to five years on a max deal.
Reggie Jackson: 5 years/$80 million
This one hurts, as Reggie Jackson was a pretty good player for the Detroit Pistons, had some big moments, memorable games and was very popular. But let’s face it, he was overpaid, as Detroit traded for him and then immediately signed him to an extension before ever seeing what he could do as a starter.
Jackson was electric in the backup point guard role for OKC behind Russell Westbrook, but it never really translated to a starting role even though he was getting paid like it. Jackson has had a long and productive career that is still going on in Denver, but he’s shown in that time that he was never quite good enough to be your top paid player, which he was for a lot of his time in Detroit and was better suited to be a role player on a good team.
Detroit Pistons: 7 biggest free-agent mistakes in team history
Ben Gordon: 5 years/$55 million
Charlie Villanueva: 5 years/$40 million
These two have to go together because they happened at the same time and essentially put the final nail in Joe Dumar’s coffin as President and GM of the Detroit Pistons. Both guys were good role players before they came to the Pistons, but as soon as they hit the free agent market Joe Dumars pounced, spending money like a drunkard on payday.
Like Reggie Jackson, Ben Gordon was a great role player for the Bulls, but he wasn’t getting paid like it once he signed with Detroit and was never the same guy. He was getting paid like a star guard but was mostly still coming off the bench for Detroit and barely averaged over double figures.
Charlie Villaneuva was even worse, though you could argue he’s the type of player who might actually be better now because of his size and ability to shoot. He played all five years of his contract and got worse in each one.
These signings are two of the primary reasons the Detroit Pistons stunk for so long and are the exact types of players Troy Weaver must avoid overpaying this offseason. They weren’t Joe Dumar’s biggest mistakes but they were close.
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.