How will fans of the Detroit Pistons remember the Paul Reed era? They won’t.
He played just 12 games for the Pistons and didn’t do much, so in the end, Reed will join a long list of recent former Pistons who had forgettable careers in Detroit.
The Pistons signed Reed to be the 3rd center, but had a get out of jail free card in the form of a non-guaranteed contract that allowed them to cut him without paying it in full. You’ll be happy to know that Tom Gores can still buy Christman gifts this year after saving a buck by waiving Reed.
The Paul Reed signing and unceremonious dumping carries on a couple of rich traditions for the Pistons.
Detroit Pistons: Pointless players
I don’t have enough time or energy to list all of the pointless signings and trades the Pistons have made over the years or the players who you likely forgot the second they left Detroit, but let’s just take a look at last year’s roster for a handful of examples:
-Marvin Bagley III
-Bojan Bogdanovic
-Buddy Boeheim
-Troy Brown Jr.
-Malachi Flynn
-Alec Burks
-Malcolm Cazalon
-Tosan Evbuomwan
-Evan Fournier
-Taj Gibson
-Quentin Grimes
-Kevin Knox
-Chimezie Metu
-Shake Milton
-Monte Morris
-Mike Muscala
-Jaylen Nowell
-Stanley Umude
-James Wiseman
I watched nearly every game last season and I don’t even remember half of these guys, as most of them were just roster filler, signed to fill a spot in a pinch, and in the case of Kevin Knox, it was his second go around as a pointless Piston.
I spent a few minutes arguing with Twitter people after they dumped Reed, not because I think he was good or that they were going to get a big return for him in a trade, but because he represented another pointless signing, a guy who was just taking up a roster spot for no reason. Another small error of the kind Troy Weaver was famous for, but the thing about small errors is that they always add up.
The Pistons had obvious needs going into the season, including the need for a competent veteran center, but chose Reed instead, mostly because of his contract. In other words, they knew this was a likelihood when they signed him. Completely pointless.
Imagine having all of those names above on the same team in the same year. It’s shameless. This is a new regime, so obviously none of those players are on them, but they can start their own list with Reed, and I'm sure there will be more pointless players to join him before the season ends.
It’s not as bad this season, but Reed is carrying on the tradition of Detroit carrying players who have no role, no future and no value on the trade market. They could have replaced any of the guys on that list with me and it wouldn’t have mattered in the least.
Reed continues the curse of #7
Reed carried on another proud tradition the Pistons have had going for years, which is the curse of #7. I’ve written about it before and now we get to add a new name to the list.
This has been going on for 20 years, with names like Ben Gordon, Brandon Knight, Brandon Jennings, Stanley Johnson, Thon Maker, Killian Hayes and Troy Brown Jr. preceding Reed.
All of these guys were either outright bad or had horrible luck with the Pistons.
So, I’d advise whatever G-Leaguer or end of bench guy they trade for this season to choose another number if he wants to be more than a footnote.