The Detroit Pistons’ offseason took a surprising turn when it was announced that Malik Beasley was under investigation for gambling, forcing them to turn to a player who is a more questionable fit in Caris LeVert.
The Pistons only gave LeVert a two-year deal, so think of it more like the Tobias Harris signing, a solid veteran who will bring consistent scoring. It's the kind of contract that could be useful in a future trade and LeVert isn't a player who is going to take much off the table.
But LeVert is not a volume 3-point shooter, and the Pistons just lost one, so there are huge questions about how Detroit is going to replace Beasley’s shooting.
This is before you get to the reality that the Pistons are likely losing both Dennis Schroder and Tim Hardaway Jr., and a real weakness for the Pistons might be getting worse.
Detroit Pistons free agency: Caris LeVert isn’t going to solve the biggest problem
Caris LeVert isn’t a bad player and there has been a negative overreaction to his signing, which is not surprising. Fans have been bandying about big names all summer and I don’t think LeVert is going to have anyone dancing in the street.
This was made worse by the news that Nickeil Alexander-Walker signed in Atlanta for similar money (although the deal is longer), which had some fans wondering why the Pistons weren’t involved.
I do like LeVert as a guy who can take pressure off the bench and potentially have a nice year in a bigger role, but he made 106 shots from 3-point range last season.
Dennis Schroder made 127. Tim Hardaway Jr. made 168, and Malik Beasley was second in the league with 319 made 3’s. That’s 614 made 3-pointers the Pistons are potentially losing, and they’ve replaced them with Caris LeVert, a guy who shoots four a game and has hit 34 percent for his career.
Even with 614 three-pointers from the three guys I just named, the Pistons were just 21st in made 3’s per game, a real weakness that showed up in the playoffs when the Knicks were able to trap Cade Cunningham with impunity.
The Pistons needed to add to their shooting, but so far all they have done is subtract, as even Dennis Schroder, who isn’t known for his 3-point shooting, made more than LeVert last season.
The offseason is far from over, so we shouldn’t get too worried at this stage, as there are still ways for the Pistons to add shooting, but this has to be a concern.