Third and final tier free-agent options for the Detroit Pistons

Jonathan Isaac, 6’10 PF, 26

I went back and forth with where Jonathan Isaac belongs in our tier series. In all reality, he likely fits best with last week’s article highlighting possible tier two signings for Detroit. Isaac has a non-guaranteed year left on his contract, and it's unlikley the Magic pick up the $17 million he'd be owed if they guarantee it.

His addition to Detroit would be unique in that his offense isn’t what Detroit would be targeting. His defense, which is even better than his Magic running mate making an appearance later in this article, is what makes him appealling.

His defensive rating comes in at 104.9, leaps and bounds better than the league average of 116. As is clearly known, the Detroit Pistons drastically need help defensively. Still just 26 years old, the 6-foot-10 power forward is averaging 6.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and almost 2 stocks per game. 

Isaac is also a career three point shooter of 33 percent, just as Isaiah Hartenstein is. As we said with the Knicks’ big man, 33 percent is not game changing, but it does force the defense to adjust their gameplan. This added skill set opens the paint up for the guards to drive, and for Jalen Duren to go to work down low.

The only issue with Isaac is his injury history. He has already missed two seasons with a torn ACL, and just last week went down with an additional injury. Initial x-rays came back negative, but it’s still something to monitor.