The Detroit Pistons would love to run it back and possibly improve around the fringes, according to Trajan Langdon, but at least one of their free agents is at risk of being poached and that is veteran guard Dennis Schroder.
The Pistons landed Schroder in a shrewd trade deadline deal and his addition certainly helped Detroit make the playoffs and also to push the Knicks to six competitive games.
All things being equal, the Pistons would love to have him back, as they don’t have a real point guard coming off the bench and Schroder has proven himself to be a big-game performer who helps close out games in the clutch.
All of these attributes will make him a popular free agent around the league, and according to insider Marc Stein (subscription), the Kings are making him a priority and could make him an offer the Pistons don’t want to match.
Detroit Pistons free agency: How much is too much for Dennis Schroder?
Dennis Schroder made just over $13 million this season, and according to Stein, the Kings are targeting him with their MLE, which would be slightly more than that at around $14 million per season.
The Pistons are likely to use their own exception to retain Malik Beasley but still have ways they could keep Schroder if they were willing to offer him that kind of annual salary.
As good as Schroder was for the Pistons, he’s an expensive luxury for a team that has needs elsewhere and can expect to get Jaden Ivey back to bolster their guard ranks.
Detroit has been connected to a number of stretch fours and fives, so if these rumors are true, coupled with the Kings’ speculation, it might mean the end of Schroder in Detroit.
The Pistons do have early Bird rights on Schroder, which means they can sign him without using cap space and potentially use the NTMLE on Beasley.
Schroder is not out the door yet, and if the Pistons really want him, they can keep him, but they’ll have to decide how much they want to allocate to backup point guard, and whether they’d be better off investing in more size and shooting.
If the Pistons bring back all three of Beasley, Schroder and Hardaway Jr., even nibbling around the fringes will be unlikely, so they have to decide if they are ok just running it back as is or would like to inject some new players into the roster to shake things up at least a little.