Detroit Pistons: The true cost of Troy Weaver's horrible asset management

The Detroit Pistons were able to get a nice win in Chicago last night but still haven’t broken into double-digits in wins, a failure which can partly be put on the shoulders of GM Troy Weaver. 

Weaver did nothing to help his young core in the offseason, signing Isaiah Stewart to an early extension and then making trades for Joe Harris and Monte Morris, who gave the Pistons nothing.

He had a ton of dead money sitting on the bench and the Pistons suffered through the worst losing streak in league history. 

I’ll give Weaver credit where credit is due, as his trades for Simone Fontecchio and Quentin Grimes at the deadline look like good ones. Both are solid players who fit with the core and have already given the team a boost in 3-point shooting and defense, though in the case of Grimes, it cost the Pistons their two best veteran trade assets, players that Troy Weaver held onto for too long. I like Grimes as a future fit, but it was costly to get him.

But last night (coincidentally just after a win, so fans might not notice), it was announced that the Pistons had bought out Mike Muscala, one of two players the Pistons got in return for a trade based around Marvin Bagley III. 

It makes some sense, as Muscala was inexplicably out of the rotation, so the Pistons did right by a veteran by allowing him to go play for a playoff team. Bully for him. But how about helping the Pistons, you know, the team you are paid to manage? Weaver has spent more time helping teams like the Kings, Knicks and Nets than he has his own over the last two years.

It was a baffling move that put an exclamation point on another tale of botched asset management by Troy Weaver. 

Trading for Marvin Bagley III and the fallout for the Detroit Pistons 

The Detroit Pistons started this mess by trading Trey Lyles, Josh Jackson and two second-round picks to acquire Marvin Bagley III. 

You could argue that Lyles alone was too much to give up for MBIII, who had done next to nothing since being drafted 2nd overall and had fallen out with his team. Lyles is playing rotation minutes on a playoff team and is shooting over 40 percent from 3-point range, a skill that would have undoubtedly helped the Pistons’ core more than a guy who can’t shoot beyond five feet and doesn’t defend. 

MBIII never got much of a chance with the Pistons, as he was mostly battling for minutes with James Wiseman, the pet project of Troy Weaver. Bagley III had a nice start to the season but then found himself out of the rotation even though the player behind him was worse at everything.  

But that didn’t stop Troy Weaver from giving MBIII a 3-year extension, the likes of which he wouldn’t have sniffed from literally any other team. Even if you argue that the Pistons should have extended Bagley, which no sane person would, he should have been on league-minimum deal, not one paying him over $12 million per season. 

The Pistons finally ended the relationship at the deadline, sending MBIII to the Wizards in exchange for Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala. Bagley III has since played well for the Wizards, an indictment of both Weaver and Williams. 

The Pistons had to send the Wizards two second-round picks just to get rid of MBIII, but at first, it looked as if the move had paid dividends. 

Both Muscala and Gallinari made positive impacts on the team with their shooting and just by being capable NBA players who know how to play the game. 

But positive impact and fit have never mattered much to Troy Weaver. 

Troy Weaver's asset management and the Detroit Pistons

Both players have now been bought out or waived, with the Pistons paying them to play elsewhere. Both players are good enough to help playoff teams, but not good enough for the Pistons for some reason. 

It’s not like Muscala is great, but he can set real screens, spread the floor and knows where to stand on defense and how to play it without fouling egregiously, things you can’t say about James Wiseman. 

Wiseman is now playing consistent rotation minutes and presumably will for the rest of the season, with Detroit now lacking the veteran center they’ve needed for two straight years. 

Muscala isn’t the difference between the Pistons being good or bad, but he was good for the development of their young players, as he is a better fit than Wiseman and can be a positive mentor for their other young bigs. 

The Pistons already gave up Saddiq Bey (or five second-round picks, however you want to look at it) to appease Weaver’s strange infatuation with Wiseman, who is a –13 this season even though he hasn’t played big minutes. 

So if you are keeping track, Troy Weaver gave up four second-round picks and three serviceable big men who were fits in Lyles, Muscala and Gallinari to attain Marvin Bagley III and then give him away, that’s not to mention Saddiq Bey, who Weaver gave up for Wiseman in part because MBIII wasn’t working. 

This is a crime of asset management, especially for a team that needs veterans and should be collecting picks, not sending them out. 

Troy Weaver has made some good draft picks and occasionally made good pickups on a trade or in free agency, but he has lost nearly every move around the fringes, which is how the worst team in the NBA actually owes picks and hasn’t stockpiled any as the other rebuilding teams have.