Detroit Pistons: Players who definitely shouldn’t be back next season

Detroit Pistons: Players who definitely shouldn’t be back next season

Marvin Bagley III

Of these players, Marvin Bagley III is the only one who has a guaranteed deal next season, so getting rid of him won’t be as simple as just letting him walk.

Bagley III is talented, but he can’t stay on the floor, and his game is not suited to playing power forward. The Pistons have been toying around with Jalen Duren and James Wiseman starting together, with the idea that MBIII and Isaiah Stewart would them up off the bench.

But given the fact that Bojan Bogdanovic is not really a wing, and the Pistons are likely to get a wing in the 2023 NBA Draft, it seems more likely that one of Duren or Wiseman will be starting at center with the other backing him up.

So where does that leave Bagley? His contact isn’t the worst in the NBA by any stretch, but $12.5 million is a lot to pay for a third center, especially one that typically only plays about half the season.

There’s also the issue of defense, as the Pistons need to improve theirs and MBIII doesn’t help much in that regard.

The fit isn’t there, so the Pistons should be scouring the league for trades that bring back a veteran guard or a backup wing who can defend.