The Detroit Pistons did some dealing this weekend, re-signing Simone Fontecchio to a two-year deal and inking free-agent Malik Beasley for one season.
Free agent sharpshooter Malik Beasley plans to sign a one-year, $6 million-plus deal with the Detroit Pistons, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Beasley's agent, Daniel Hazan of Hazan Sports Management, has been negotiating the new deal with Pistons officials. pic.twitter.com/uNt4HRqX5v
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 6, 2024
Trajan Langdon is clearly not going to sign anyone to a long-term deal which is smart, as the Pistons need to work with the timeline of their young players and in another year or two, they will be ready to make their move with plenty of financial flexibility.
The Beasley signing was an interesting one, as it makes two new shooting guards added to the roster, both veterans, and in Beasley’s case, one of the best high-volume 3-point shooters in the league.
He hit over 41 percent of his 3-point shots last season on just under seven attempts per game, so this is a guy who will let it fly.
With Marcus Sasser also on the roster, you have to wonder how the Pistons are going to find minutes for all of these two-guards, and do they still need a backup point guard? (more on that in a minute).
And most importantly, what does it mean for Jaden Ivey?
Are the Detroit Pistons going to trade Jaden Ivey?
I saw a lot of fans predicting that the additions of THJ and Beasley might spell the end for Jaden Ivey, but the two are not necessarily related.
Ivey can still slot into the starting lineup with the two veterans sharing minutes (or playing together off the bench).
The Pistons needed shooters and they needed guys who know how to play the game of basketball and they added three of them in Tobias Harris, THJ and Beasley.
If you want to be conspiratorial, sure, Ivey could be gone, as Langdon has no connection to him and may feel his value is at its peak right now. The Pistons have waited too long on prospects before and ended up watching them leave for nothing. So, yes, it is possible.
But both THJ and Beasley are comfortable coming off the bench and have been mostly role players in their careers, so they’ll slide into whatever job coach Bickerstaff needs them to do.
There are two other reasons that these additions are not a bad sign for Jaden Ivey.
Short team deals and competition for Jaden Ivey
One of my biggest problems with how the Pistons have “rebuilt” is that they just threw all of these young players into the fire together without much competition, never making them earn minutes or penalizing them for making the same mistakes again and again.
I’ve seen some fans bemoaning that these vets are going to “take away minutes” from the young players or “stunt their development.” Nonsense.
Minutes are supposed to be earned in professional sports, not given to a guy just because he was a high draft pick.
Also, playing with competent veterans instead of all developing young players will be great for these guys. They need older players to call them out, to coach them up on the floor and to make their lives easier.
Ivey’s development isn’t going to be hurt by this, it will be helped, and if it’s not, he’s not that guy.
Competition is a good thing. Jaden Ivey is going to have to earn it and if he does, great, he’ll be in the starting five. If not, he’ll go to the bench, which may not be the worst thing in the world.
And all of these players are on short-term deals that line up with his, so he’ll likely have the next two seasons to prove himself and to grow as a player without the pressure of having the future of a franchise on his shoulders.
Ivey will be given plenty of chances to prove himself and if he improves this season, he’ll be the guy with all of these vets on expiring deals and the Pistons looking to add another high-impact star or two.
The competition is great, the timeline works out and Ivey finally has some players to learn from. And he could have a new role.
Jaden Ivey as the point guard off the bench for the Detroit Pistons
Fans get so obsessed with who starts when it doesn’t really matter. Ivey is going to get his minutes whether as a starter or coming off the bench, which may be the best role for him anyway.
Langdon has still not signed a backup point guard, as he may have Ivey penciled into that role. He’s not a great fit with Cade Cunningham anyway, so why not let him be the lead guard and primary scoring option off the bench?
Cunningham and Ivey have both played better when the other isn’t on the floor Ivey could thrive unleashed in a bench role with more shooting around him to create space.
If one of Beasley, THJ or Thompson starts with Fontecchio, it will leave Ivey with plenty of shooting coming off the bench with him, a chance for him to create with the ball in his hands with guys who can make a defense pay if they collapse on his dribble penetration.
This is a long way of saying that the offseason additions should be good for Ivey, as they will compete with him and potentially push him into a better role.