The Detroit Pistons made a decision Wednesday that flew under the radar. They officially guaranteed the contract of Javonte Green, keeping around one of the most important additions of the offseason.
It's not that the Pistons were practically considering getting rid of Javonte Green. He has been a major part of what they have accomplished this season. The Detroit Pistons are 28-9 on the year, good for first place in the Eastern Conference, and Green has played in a team-high 37 games this season. It did not make sense to waive him.
Just because it was unlikely, however, doesn't mean that it is not significant that the Pistons kept Green around. He breathed life into his career down the stretch of last season, playing well for the Cleveland Cavaliers in spot minutes.
He parlayed that into a minimum contract with the Pistons this summer, one that was only guaranteed for $925,106. That is hardly a firm commitment from Detroit that he would be a major part of their plans.
Javonte Green has been indispensable
Yet Green has proven himself to be an indispensable rotation player for the first-place Pistons. He is coming off the bench and playing 19.5 minutes per game, shooting a decent 35.8 percent from deep and attacking the basket in transition and off of cuts.
His defense is his primary calling card, and he has been exceptional on that end of the court. He is strong and long, battling opposing forwards and wings and taking on the most difficult assignments. Paired with players like Duncan Robinson, Green's ability to lock down opposing players has been invaluable.
From an asset standpoint, if the Pistons had worked out a trade that brought in more players than it sent out, waiving the partially-guaranteed contract of an offseason signing makes sense; that is why teams negotiate partially-guranteed contracts in the first place, to achieve that level of flexibility.
Green has played so well, however, that such an option has been taken off the table. The Pistons are not locked into keeping him all season; he could be thrown into a trade if Detroit found reason to do so. But if they cut him, his contract will now be fully guaranteed and they would not receive any financial savings.
The leaguewide guarantee date is January 10th, and that makes January 7th the unofficial deadline to waive and save because a player has to clear waivers before the deadline. Wednesday passed without a sound in Detroit; Javonte Green is officially sticking around.
Green is 32 years old and has played a long career; he is not suddenly a crucial part of their long-term core. Yet his defensive impact as a minimum signing is exactly the sort of free agency brilliance that good teams rely on. Credit is due to the front office on finding Green, and credit is due to J.B. Bickerstaff on deploying him in such a way as to succeed.
Javonte Green may fall out of the rotation; he may not be re-signed this summer. For now, however, he has played a crucial role for the team, and that means they have officially decided to keep him around for the season.