Detroit Pistons: 3 veteran centers to target in Free Agency
By Bob Heyrman
Signing Richaun Holmes would be a dream come true for the Detroit Pistons.
Let’s get to the reality of this fairytale, Richaun Holmes is coming off of a career year and will likely demand more money than the Detroit Pistons are willing to pay.
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Also, unlike the previous two mentioned, Holmes will firmly expect to be the starting center. That shouldn’t entirely deter the organization from trying to sign the talented center. Still, it seems the Detroit Pistons are hoping to work second-year Isaiah Stewart into a starting role as a 20-year old. That doesn’t mean after adding Holmes, the organization could bring Stewart off the bench for at least another season, but I assume that is not the current plan.
As of this writing, Holmes is expected to stay in Sacramento but may still elect to field a few offers. Holmes was expected to garner plenty of attention on the open market, but what was expected to be a robust market has started to dry up after the Pistons sent Plumlee to the Hornets. That leaves the Pistons, Knicks, Raptors, and Mavericks in the market for a center if he opts to leave the Kings.
The year prior, during the COVID-19 shortened season, Holmes scored a career-high 12.3 points per game. As impressive as that was, understanding it had been a career-high, the 27-year old built upon that success to set a new career-high in 2020-21.
In 61 contests last season, Holmes averaged 14.2 points, 8.3 boards, and 1.7 assists per game. Holmes also shot a stellar 63.7% from the field and converted on nearly 80% of his free throw attempts.
Next. Evaluating the fit of Cade Cunningham and Killian Hayes. dark
Again, it’s a pipe dream of mine to add the offensively gifted center, which has yet to reach his ceiling, but the Detroit Pistons may not be able to navigate their way around paying him upwards of $20 million per season.