The Detroit Pistons still have an open roster spot that they appear to be saving in the event of another trade before the 2023-24 season.
They were never a serious bidder on the free agent market and used most of their cap space on trades for Joe Harris and Monte Morris.
But some good free agents still remain, and it appears that most of them are going to have to settle for minimum deals.
Former Piston Christian Wood recently signed a two-year deal with the Lakers worth $5.7 million, which is probably less than he was hoping for. Wood has had issues with all seven teams he’s played for, so may have had to accept less in a “prove it” year, with the second being a player option.
Wood may be a special case, or he may have set the market for the remaining free agents, who might have to settle for similar deals.
Detroit Pistons: Who will sign the remaining NBA free agents?
The best free agent still on the market is probably Kelly Oubre Jr. who is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, albeit for a lousy Charlotte Hornets team. He only played in 48 games, but averaged over 20 points and five rebounds, numbers that you’d think would get him paid.
But he took a lot of shots to get those 20 points and only made 43 percent of them, including 31.9 from 3-point range on 7.1 attempts per game. He’s been an inefficient chucker the last two seasons but has shown he can put up big numbers when he gets hot, as he dropped 34 on Cleveland last season and had a stretch of nine games where he scored more than 20 points.
Ideally, he’d be a scorer coming off the bench of a good team, but so far he’s had no takers. He’s not a great fit for the Detroit Pistons, but they do need more depth on the wing and a motivated Oubre Jr. on a minimum deal might be worth a flyer.
It’s more likely he chooses the route Wood took, which is signing a lowball deal with a good team where he can rebuild his value as a role player.
Ex-Piston Hamidou Diallo is also still available, but after him there is a pretty steep drop off and most of the names are well past their prime veterans who will likely take deep bench roles on contenders.