One of the hallmarks of the Detroit Pistons’ “tank era” was holding onto players for too long or continuing to play them well after it made any sense.
We saw the former with guys like Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks and even Jerami Grant, veterans the Pistons should have probably traded before they did. They did get a nice return for Grant, but had to give away Bogdanovic and Burks, and you can add Andre Drummond to that list as well if you want to go back further.
They kept beating dead horses like Marvin Bagley III, Killian Hayes and Isaiah Livers even after it was clear they weren’t rotation players and certainly not starters.
Knowing when to cut ties with a player is crucial in the business of the NBA, especially now, when one bad contract can submarine a team’s payroll. The Pistons may have avoided that with four players by getting out at the right time.
Quentin Grimes
Grimes is a good player and blew up with Philly last season in an expanded role with most of their stars out injured.
I like Grimes, but he’s now seeking a ridiculous contract and is in a standoff with Philly, reportedly asking for $30 million a year in annual salary. I like Grimes, but not for that cost.
The Pistons saved themselves the headache by trading Grimes as part of the deal for Tim Hardaway Jr. Grimes was reportedly not happy in Detroit, so Trajan Langdon predicted this issue and unloaded it onto someone else.
Simone Fontecchio
Fontecchio was out of the playoff rotation, so this was a no-brainer. He never regained the form from his 15 games at the end of the 2023-24 season and was never the knock down shooter the Pistons needed him to be.
They were able to unload his expiring deal in the Duncan Robinson trade, which not only offset some of Robinson’s salary for next season but got a guy off the books who wasn’t likely to play.
Good luck to Tek, but the timing was right for his departure.
Tim Hardaway Jr.
THJ was a solid veteran last season in a much larger role than the one the Pistons envisioned for him when they basically took him on as a salary dump.
At the right price, I am sure the Pistons would have brought him back, but it would be risky to try and wring another productive season out of a 33-year-old when there were better, more versatile options out there.
Malik Beasley
The Pistons’ hand was forced by a federal gambling investigation, otherwise Beasley would probably be back, but even before his investigation, there were questions about Beasley.
I had my doubts/concerns that a well-fed, under-contract Beasley would be quite as hungry as the one we saw knock down a historic number of 3-pointers last season. I had serious doubts that we’d ever see another season like that from Beasley, who did it in a contract year with plenty on the line.
He was also bad in the playoffs, including fumbling the ball on the final play of the elimination game, a play which has been given considerably more scrutiny since the gambling allegations.
Beasley had a lightning-in-a-bottle season, but he wasn’t likely to do it again, and the Pistons got lucky that they got the information before signing Beasley to what would have likely been a $42 million deal.