The Detroit Pistons will look for consistency and value when shopping for a third center this offseason and could turn to a familiar face in Mason Plumlee.
Currently, the Pistons have just two centers under contract for next season in Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, though there have been ubiquitous rumors about the Pistons’ interest in a stretch five to complement them.
Good luck with that, as centers that can shoot are a valuable and rare commodity, especially in the price range the Pistons will likely be shopping in.
Detroit could just bring back Paul Reed, who was good in a limited role this season, but given his age, he may get more than the minimum, which is about all the Pistons will have to spend.
Plumlee is far more likely to have to take a veteran’s minimum, and even at age 35, still has something to offer the Pistons as a third center.
Detroit Pistons free agency: Mason Plumlee could be great value for money
Ideally, you want a third center who is reliable, complements the skillset held by your other bigs and is a guy who can potentially fill in for a stretch if someone gets hurt.
Plumlee ticks all of those boxes as a versatile big who can pass, score a little and rebound, as we saw this season.
Plumlee appeared in 74 games for the Suns, averaging just over 17 minutes per game, and put up solid numbers of 4.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 62 percent from the floor.
Plumlee is not a guy who is going to space the floor with his shooting, but he has other ways to do it as a playmaker from the top of the key. He’s a good screen setter who is solid in the dribble hand off and good at using his big frame to create space for shooters.
He’s not a long-distance shooter, but he’s also not a parking cone center who just camps in the lane, you can move Plumlee around and run plays through and off him.
Jalen Duren improved in those areas this season and what better player to help mentor him than a guy in Plumlee who is a good passer for his size and a smart player who knows how to use his body to create space?
Plumlee last played for Detroit in the 2020-21 season and was a fan favorite and a guy I thought they should have kept, as they salary dumped him for no reason and got nothing in return, one of Troy Weaver’s most inexplicable moves as GM.
I’d be ok with a Plum Dog reunion, as he could add a dimension off the bench and fill in if there is an injury. Plumlee is an unrestricted free agent who made around $3.3 million this season,