The Detroit Pistons have several glaring needs as they head into an offseason full of question marks.
The Pistons have been reluctant to make upgrades in free agency over the last several seasons, and the class this summer isn’t much better, though there are a few standouts.
One is Gary Trent Jr., the 25-year-old wing from the Toronto Raptors, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Trent Jr. Is a gunner who has always been a high-volume and accurate 3-point shooter, hitting over 39 percent this season on 6.4 attempts per game.
He’s not an elite defender by any means, but he’s got good size and puts in effort on that end. He has averaged 1.2 steals per game for his career to just 1.5 fouls, so he can be a disruptive perimeter defender without getting into foul trouble, something the Pistons’ young guards have struggled with.
Trent Jr is not an All-Star, but he’s a solid two-way player, who would also help Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey.
Detroit Pistons free agency: Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and Gary Trent Jr.
Gary Trent Jr is the right kind of player to put around Cade Cunningham and/or Jaden Ivey, as he doesn’t need the ball in his hands to make an impact.
Trent Jr only had a 20 percent usage rate this season and is more comfortable off the ball. The majority of his attempts came on catch-and-shoot 3’s, on which he shot an outstanding 43.1 percent this season.
He could start alongside Cade Cunningham, giving him a floor spreader and a better defender than Jaden Ivey. That pushes Ivey to a bench role, which is likely better for him anyway, where he can be the initiator who would also benefit from the spacing created by another high-volume 3-point shooter. Or you could bring Trent Jr off the bench, as he's shown he's comfortable in that role as well. Either way, it gives Ivey some competition and makes him earn his minutes next season while increasing the overall level of talent.
Trent Jr is unrestricted and will have suitors, including his current team, so the Pistons may have to splash out to get him, and there’s an argument that paying upwards of $20 million per season for a role player is too much.
But he’s a very good role player and wouldn’t cost them anything more than cap space. Is he the perfect fit? No, but he won’t cost them any of their young players and would help some of the Cade/Ivey issues at guard.