Another day of NBA free agency has passed and the Detroit Pistons still haven’t done much.
After using up their cap space on trades for Joe Harris and Monte Morris, the Pistons have gone quiet, which may be an indication that they are done making deals, or that they are waiting for some of the big shoes to drop.
Either way, some fans are getting impatient and frustrated, which is understandable after winning 17 games last season while being promised things were about to get better. But this frustration can lead to every player that signs somewhere else suddenly looking like a big miss for the Pistons.
It happened a few days ago, when Bol Bol ( a weird obsession for some Pistons’ fans) was waived, suddenly making him a great fit in Detroit. He’s not, and the time to take a flyer on a guy like him was last season, not after they already have four project bigs on the roster.
It happened again yesterday, when role player Grant Williams was moved to Dallas in a sign-and-trade that Detroit could have almost certainly gotten in on if they hadn’t made other moves:
Looks like Williams is getting 4/53 https://t.co/2glWTgI6bD
— PistonPowered (@PistonPowered) July 5, 2023
Detroit decided not to, and even though Williams would have been a nice fit in some ways, the Pistons made a calculated gamble on their own guy instead.
Pistons news: Grant Williams and Isaiah Stewart
I like Williams. His shooting and defense would be a fit on the Detroit Pistons, but some of you really need a reality check if you think he was going to be the difference next season. This is a guy who averaged eight points per game and could barely get off the bench in the playoffs for a good team. He’s on a pretty good deal, but he was hardly going to be a big needle mover in Detroit.
Also, the Pistons already have a similar player in Isaiah Stewart, who is younger and has some overlapping qualities. Beef Stew is not as good a shooter yet, but if you believe in his pre-injury numbers, he can certainly get there. Stewart is better in some areas, worse in others, and also happens to be two years younger.
When Williams was 21-years-old (Stewart’s age last season), he averaged 3.4 points and shot 25 percent from 3-point range. Stewart averted 11.3 points and over eight rebounds per game last season. Yes, Williams was on a much better team, but if you look at their trajectories, it’s hard not to think Stewart is going to be the better player eventually.
Detroit is showing faith in their guy, which has been the theme of the offseason so far.
This is what it comes down to: If the Pistons’ young core ends up being good, then the team will be good and enjoy the type of sustained success we all want. If they don’t, they won’t.
Giving away all of their future financial flexibility to sign mid free agents wasn’t going to matter to their long-term success.