4 Pistons Leaving Detroit in the New Year

3. Marcus Sasser

Sasser was one of the lone bright spots for the Pistons last season. The 25th-overall pick in the draft, Marcus Sasser, exceeded expectations and gave Detroit solid point guard play as a rookie. He averaged 8.3 points and 3.3 assists per game in 19 minutes of action while hitting 37.5% of his threes.

In his second season, however, Sasser took a step back. The 24-year-old point guard saw his role diminished with the arrivals of Ron Holland, Malik Beasley, and Tim Hardaway Jr. Now, he is the third-stringer at PG behind Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, only having played 13.1 minutes per game in 22 appearances.

With Ivey's injury, Sasser may see more playing time. He can play his way into the rotation but he is certainly behind in the pecking order of young Pistons players. The team is clearly more invested in the likes of Holland, Ausar Thompson, Ivey, and Cunningham, making him more superfluous.

Sasser has a team option worth $2.8 million for his third season. The Pistons will almost certainly pick up that option, as he is still potentially a rotation player for that price. His pick-and-roll ability and off-the-dribble shooting can help a team.

It's just unlikely that it will be the Pistons. As a result, Sasser will be a trade chip at the deadline and in the offseason. Detroit will make moves to upgrade the roster and push for playoff contention while using Sasser as a trade asset to do so.