The Detroit Pistons have had a slow offseason so far, and what they have done isn’t drawing rave reviews.
The Pistons signed Kevin Huerter and John Collins in free agency to address needs at power forward, shooting and bench depth, but did they overpay?
Bleacher Report thinks so, as they listed both Huerter and Collins on their list of the five worst free agent overpays of the offseason so far. Owning 40 percent of the list isn’t a great look for the Pistons, but did B/R get it right? Not really.
Kevin Huerter is a cheap gamble
B/R makes the point that the Pistons are paying Huerter for shooting and he’s not been very good at it of late, as his 3-point mark has decreased in each of the last two seasons when he was well below average, especially for a guy who is supposed to be a shooter.
He showed flashes of it in Detroit, hitting 38.6 percent of his 3-point attempts in the last 15 games of the regular season before suffering another injury that had him in and out of the playoff rotation.
The Pistons are betting that Huerter still has that shooter in him, and he also showed better-than-advertised creation and passing, so while it may be an “overpay” now, he’s a guy who would be great value if he just starts hitting 3-pointers again.
His contract will also be easy to tack onto a bigger deal for salary matching purposes, so it’s doubtful Huerter’s deal ever becomes a hindrance for Detroit. At worst, it’s a slight overpay for a bench player, and at best he’s a value deal for a quality bench scorer.
The details are important in the John Collins contract
I’d also agree that the Collins signing is not one that had people super excited, as he’s not a clear upgrade from Tobias Harris, who will certainly be missed.
Collins is an efficient scorer but needs to increase his 3-point volume with the Pistons for them to get true value.
It’s easy to imagine Collins getting some of those wide-open corner 3-point shots Cade Cunningham created all last season, and if he can pump up his volume a bit, he’ll be a nice spacing four.
Pundits overreacted last season when the Pistons signed Duncan Robinson to a reported 3-year deal that was actually a one-year deal with team options. The same is true of Collins, so the Pistons are getting a starting level power forward on a one-year deal worth $17 million, which is a bargain.
Collins isn’t an All-Star, but he’s a good fit and is making below league average for a starter on a deal that leaves the Pistons with plenty of flexibility.
You can argue about whether these are overpays, but neither of these contracts are going to hurt the Pistons and could end up being great value deals if these players thrive in new roles or are needed in trades.
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