Pistons could steal breakout free agent to help solve biggest problem

All season long, the talk around the Detroit Pistons has been about how they need more shooting, and they could address that need in the offseason with restricted free agent Peyton Watson, who is having a breakout season for the Nuggets. 

While the Pistons have found success despite their lousy 3-point shooting, there are questions whether that model will hold up in the playoffs. The Pistons don’t need to turn into peak-era Warriors, but it’s hard to argue against the idea that another shooter or two would help MVP-candidate Cade Cunningham. 

The Pistons only feature one player who is a real 3-point threat in Duncan Robinson, a guy who could eventually get pulled in the playoffs if his defense doesn’t hold up. 

That wouldn’t be an issue with Watson, who would give the Pistons something they do not currently have on the wing, which is a two-way player. 

The Pistons have too many one-way players on the wing 

Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland II are two of the best wing defenders in the league, but they are also two of the worst shooters. 

Thompson barely even looks at the rim from 3-point range, and Holland is hitting just 22 percent, though he still has the confidence to take them. 

With these two being non-shooters, it makes JB Bickerstaff’s job tough, as he doesn’t like to play them at the same time, which can lead to inexplicable decisions like the one he made the other night, which was to bench Thompson. 

The Pistons could certainly use more help at power forward, especially with Tobias Harris on an expiring deal, but they also need more shooting on the wing, it’s that simple. 

Peyton Watson is not Duncan Robinson. He’s not a high-volume guy with the reputation as a shooter, as he is in the middle of a breakout season after only averaging eight points a game on pedestrian shooting numbers in his first three seasons. Watson came into the league as a defensive prospect but has shown this year that he can be more. 

He’s averaging just under 15 points per game while shooting nearly 42 percent from long range. And in case you are wondering if he’s purely a product of playing with Nikola Jokic, Watson’s scoring average and shooting percentages shot up when the Joker was out. 

Watson isn’t just a shooter, as he has great size at 6-foot-8, is a solid defender (2.2 stocks per game) and rebounder. Given that he is a plus defender, he’d finally give the Pistons someone on the wing who can both defend and shoot the ball. 

The question is whether the Pistons could pry him away. Watson will be a restricted free agent, and the Nuggets are unlikely to go too deep into the tax to retain him, so the right offer could scare them off.  Watson is also hurt currently, out with an ankle sprain, so who knows how that will affect how the Nuggets view him this offseason.

The Pistons are unlikely to have cap space, but they could use their non-taxpayer mid-level exception to offer Watson a deal in the $15 million per season range, roughly what they were going to offer Malik Beasley. 

The difference is that Watson is just 23, can defend and has size, so he’d potentially be a nice upgrade that wouldn’t break the bank or cost the Pistons any players to acquire.