The Detroit Pistons are expected to make wholesale changes to their roster after flaming out earlier than expected in the playoffs. To become a true title contender, the Pistons have to make significant additions, mostly to improve offensively. Cade Cunningham needs more offensive firepower around him, and fortunately, the Pistons have enough cap space, draft capital, and assets to make these upgrades.
This means that there will be a few Pistons whose time in Detroit will come to an end. Whether they are used as trade chips or are simply not brought back by the team, several Pistons will be headed elsewhere. Let’s look at the most likely departure candidates, as we are a month away from the official start of free agency.
Caris LeVert
If the Pistons are making any splash trades this summer, they will want to use LeVert as the primary matching salary. He is due $14.8 million next season and is unlikely to provide value commensurate with that contract. Even though the veteran combo guard had his moments in his first season in Detroit, he wasn’t an important enough part of the rotation for much of the campaign.
LeVert is simply not good enough offensively to have a consistent rotation role on a contender. Detroit needs more reliable shooting around Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, and Jalen Duren.
Trading LeVert, alongside another player and draft capital, is an excellent way to acquire that shooting.
Ron Holland
If LeVert is the most likely trade candidate in Detroit, Holland is a close second. The Pistons have been patient with the former fifth-overall pick over the last two seasons, but Detroit can’t afford to wait around much longer. Before Holland’s trade value tanks any further, it behooves the Pistons to move him for a better fit.
On a team that desperately lacks shooting and already has Ausar Thompson on the wing, there is no room for Holland. He is still only 20 years old and clearly has some upside, but the Pistons need to use his $9 million salary for next season more intelligently by using it as a trade chip.
Kevin Huerter
The 27-year-old shooting guard is an unrestricted free agent this summer. If the Pistons can retain him on a veteran’s minimum deal, they should have some interest in bringing him back. If he has any market whatsoever, the Pistons should let him sign elsewhere.
On paper, Huerter is the type of player the Pistons should try to keep. He is a good offensive player and can shoot the ball without being too big a defensive liability. Unfortunately, his skill set on paper hasn’t translated to on-court production.
His shot has completely abandoned him as he made 29.4% of his threes as a Piston. Considering that he only made 32.4% of his threes in the much larger sample size of last two seasons, the Pistons should be concerned about investing real resources into keeping Huerter.
Since he wasn’t a big part of the Pistons’ success to begin with, it might make more sense to part ways with him and sign another shooter in free agency.
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