There was speculation that the Detroit Pistons were going to turn the loss of Dennis Schroder into a sign-and-trade for Malik Monk, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Shams Charania reported that Schroder signed a 3 year/$45 million deal with the Kings with no mention of any signs or trades along with it.
I wasn’t sold on Malik Monk after already acquiring Caris LeVert, as neither of them are good long-range shooters and the Pistons have over 600 3-pointers to replace after losing Malik Beasley, Schroder and (so far) Tim Hardaway Jr.
The Pistons could mitigate this somewhat by bringing THJ back, but they still have room to add another player and have ways to trade for the shooting they need.
Simone Fontecchio is on an expiring contract worth just $8 million, which could be valuable to a team looking to cut payroll or get off future money.
That could open an opportunity for the Pistons to make a trade.
The big impact addition likely isn’t coming but there are players out there who could help replace some of Beasley’s shooting.
Duncan Robinson
Robinson declined a lucrative player option, and it doesn’t seem like he’d do that if he didn’t have a plan in place, so I suspect he’ll end up back with the Heat.
But the Pistons have reportedly shown interest and could use Fontecchio in a sign-and-trade if the Heat and Robinson can’t work out a deal.
Sam Hauser
It’s unclear if the Celtics will continue to cut payroll after they were able to trim $180 million off their luxury bill.
Hauser is an elite shooter and on a good deal, so they may be more inclined to keep him, but if they wanted to save some more money and pick up a draft asset, flipping him for Fontecchio is a possibility.
Grayson Allen
The Suns are still in financial straits even after ditching Kevin Durant and have reportedly been shopping Grayson Allen, another elite shooter.
His contract extends a few more seasons, which could scare the Pistons away, but there is a potential deal to be had here with Fontecchio as well.
The Pistons haven’t won any awards for their offseason so far, but if they can add an elite shooter to their bench, it will help soften the blow of some of the players they’ve lost and put them back into a good position heading into next season.