The Detroit Pistons aren’t likely to make a marquee move for a star this off-season. Trajan Langdon confirmed as much when he preached patience at yesterday’s end-of-the-season press conference.
Langdon is right to take this approach. The Pistons were competitive with the young group they had this season, taking the Knicks to six games, something that looks even more impressive after New York stormed into Boston and won the first two games of their series.
There’s a strong argument that internal growth (including a first full offseason and training camp for Ausar Thompson), retention of their own free agents and one impact addition could be enough to take the Pistons to the next level.
This is the approach the Boston Celtics took, as they found their stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and then started adding the right pieces around them, including Derrick White, an undervalued player they got for a great price in a trade.
White has proven to be one of the final pieces of the championship puzzle for Boston. He had already shown promise in San Antonio but found a new level for the Celtics, especially defensively.
The Pistons should be looking for their own version of White, a guy they might be able to get at a value who could thrive even more in a bigger role. There are a couple who come to mind immediately, but one in particular who could fit this role for Detroit.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker could be the Pistons’ version of Derrick White
Unrestricted free agent Nickeil Alexander-Walker is 26 years old, a year younger than Derrick White was when he was traded to the Celtics.
NAW bounced around a bit early in his career, when he was plagued by inconsistency and ill-defined roles before finding a home in Minnesota, where he has been a 3-and-D stopper on the wing.
He’s a big shooting guard with a long wingspan who can defend several positions on the perimeter and knock down 3-point shots. He’s not the creator or scorer that White is, but NAW has shown scoring ability in the past, especially when he played for New Orleans when he was considered more of an offensive prospect.
He’s only getting 7.5 shots per game for Minnesota, where shots are hard to come by playing with Anthony Edwards, but there is reason to believe NAW has more offensively, especially going to the rim.
I watched NAW quite a lot when he played for the Pelicans and he had some monster games for them scoring the ball, so that ability is there, NAW just leaned into his defense to carve out a role for himself when he was teetering on the fringes of the league.
This is a guy who could potentially score 15 points per game with a few more shots, and he’s already a very good defender who would fit right into the culture the Pistons are building.
He also has one of the qualities we know Trajan Langdon is looking for: Availability. NAW has played all 82 games in both of the last two seasons for the Timberwolves. He doesn’t mind coming off the bench, will embrace a role as a 3-and-D stopper and could be the type of high-level glue guy the Celtics got when they traded for White.
Pursuing NAW in free agency would likely cost the Pistons at least one of their own free agents, as it would be tough to bring back all three of Beasley, Schroder and THJ, but if the Pistons are going to build around defense, adding another high-level defender on the wing wouldn’t hurt, even if it costs them some veteran shooting. NAW shot a better percentage this year than THJ from long range and his age better fits the timeline long term.
Alexander-Walker is going to get a big raise from the $4.3 million he made this season and it will be tough for the Timberwolves to give it to him and still retain Naz Reid. If I am the Pistons, I am waiting eagerly for the financial fallout in Minnesota.
Finding an undervalued player who can be more should be a priority for the Pistons this summer, as they are the type of players who help win championships.