The Detroit Pistons didn't make the splashy offseason transactions that some fans were hoping for. But they retooled the roster enough to feel good about their chances of making a deep postseason run.
The biggest difference between the 2026-27 Pistons and last season's team will hopefully be the shooting. The Pistons believe that they have upgraded in terms of shooting, especially with Isaiah Joe's arrival. They also made it a priority to re-sign Kevin Huerter.
While it's understandable why the Pistons wanted to retain Huerter, the contract they gave him certainly raises some eyebrows. The three-year, $27 million deal the 28-year-old shooting guard signed this summer looks like an overpay after looking at the deals other free-agent SGs signed.
Kevin Huerter is way overpaid compared to his SG counterparts
Earlier in the offseason, Landry Shamet, who was a big part of the Knicks' title run, signed a four-year, $24 million deal. Luke Kennard, Anfernee Simons, and Tim Hardaway Jr. will all make around $6 million per year in their new deals. Huerter, for some inexplicable reason, will make 50% more than all four of these sharpshooters.
Over the last few weeks, Bennedict Mathurin signed a two-year, $16 million contract with the Pelicans, while Bradley Beal signed a two-year, $13.1 million deal with the Clippers. Mathurin is not a good shooter, and he may not have been a great fit in Detroit. But he is still a more valuable player than Huerter, and he will be making less than the veteran.
Beal is older and injury-prone, but presumably a lot more teams would take a chance on Beal for $6.5 million for next season than Huerter for $9.5 million.
Sure, shooting is a premium skill. Teams tend to overpay for elite shooters. The problem is that Huerter hasn't been a good shooter in years. He hasn't hit above-league-average from three since the 2022-23 season. Over the last two seasons, he is at 32.4% from downtown. For a player whose calling card is his shooting, that is not acceptable.
There is a reason Huerter wasn't a big part of Detroit's playoff rotation, even before suffering the left adductor strain that kept him out of the Round 2 series against the Cavs. He still doesn't have a clear path to playing time behind Duncan Robinson, Isaiah Joe, and Daniss Jenkins. Did the Pistons really have to give a three-year, $27 million contract to a player who may not even be in the rotation most nights?
This may not end up mattering in the end, but this is clearly not the best use of resources for the Pistons. There is a serious chance this will end up like an unfavorable contract that Detroit has to pay to get out of. Just when they are trying to take the next step into contention with Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren presumably starting their lucrative deals, the Pistons can't afford to make mistakes like this anymore.
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