Why are the Detroit Pistons going through this charade again?

Fans of the Detroit Pistons have been waiting around for the team to make another move, but this wasn’t the one they were hoping for.

Detroit announced that they had re-signed free agent Buddy Boeheim, a move that did not have fans dancing in the streets of the Motor City.

Boeheim became a bit of a running joke last season, as fans openly wondered whether his two-way contract was a favor to his father Jim, who is close with Troy Weaver, his former assistant coach at Syracuse.

Boeheim did little to dispel the rumor that he was a nepotism hire, as he only played 10 games for the worst team in the NBA last season, mostly in mop-up duty, averaging fewer than two points per game.

His G-League numbers were better, and he did start to shoot the ball well towards the end of last season, finishing at 37 percent from long range on over seven attempts per game.

But he’s a traffic cone on defense and offers little on offense other than a guy who can hit catch-and-shoot 3’s. He has little chance of ever making the NBA, so why in the world did the Detroit Pistons bring him back?

Detroit Pistons: No need to worry about Buddy Boeheim

Like the head-scratching signing of Zavier Simpson, Buddy Boeheim was only signed to an Exhibit-10 contact, which is worth about as much as the paper it is written on.

Detroit still has an open roster spot, as well as a two-way, so unlike last season, Boeheim won’t be eating up any space on the roster. Exhibit 10 deals are easy to cancel or convert to two-ways, so Boeheim will likely just be a warm body in training camp before he is eventually waived.

But considering Boeheim’s skillset, it does seem like the Pistons could have done better, even if it is just on a guy who will compete in training camp. The best teams are consistently finding quality players outside of the first round of the NBA Draft, an area where the Pistons have failed over the last several seasons.

The cynic in me looks at this and says it appears that Weaver is doing favors for an old friend again by helping out his son. It’s not a signing that will ultimately matter, but with so many good players out there to evaluate, it seems like a waste to give any type of deal to Buddy Boeheim.