When the Detroit Pistons signed Kevin Huerter, it was a tad baffling, as they gave him $9 million a year when there wasn’t anyone else bidding.
I thought it was a calculated gamble that Huerter would return to form, and that he’d end up on one extreme end of the value spectrum, either as a deep bench guy making way too much or a key rotation player on a team-friendly deal.
So far, it’s closer to the latter, as Huerter has played well on both ends and seems to be finding his 3-point form again.
The other thought with Huerter’s contract is that the Pistons would eventually need it in a trade, as they don’t have many big deals to stack up if they want to make a splashy move.
Huerter gives them another $9 million to aggregate in a trade, but at this point, it’s not his deal the Pistons would use.
Kevin Huerter may be too valuable to give away
I’ve already been seeing Huerter’s name as a salary throw-in in several fake trades, including a recent one for Naz Reid.
Obviously, Huerter is not untouchable, and if the Pistons had to give him up to get an upgrade, it would not be a dealbreaker.
But as of this moment, it might be Isaiah Joe or even Ron Holland who end up on the trade block if the Pistons need more salary matching in a trade.
Joe has barely played because of injury, so this has less to do with him and more about Huerter, who offers more as an all-around player than Joe does.
Joe is the better volume 3-point shooter, there is no doubt, but other than that, Huerter is better at just about everything else.
Huerter can handle the ball and rarely turns it over, something the Pistons desperately need. He creates enough gravity as a shooter to get defenses moving, and he knows how to get to his spots.
Huerter has better size and is the far better defender, which is something I’ve been impressed by this season. Huerter is averaging a block and a steal per game and seems to have bought into the idea of being a disruptive defender.
Both Joe and Huerter (and Ron Holland) make around the same money, so if the Pistons need a salary, it would be Joe’s that they dump, not Huerter.
This can change as the season goes on, and to be fair to Joe, he hasn’t even gotten a chance to show how he can help this team, but right now, Huerter’s all-around game gives him the edge.
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