The Detroit Pistons' Cinderella run is officially over. After being the biggest surprise team in the NBA this season, improving their win total by 30, the Detroit Pistons gave the New York Knicks their best shot, dropping three home games at the wire to lose in six.
While Pistons fans will understandably be disappointed after a heartbreaking Game 6 loss, they are undoubtedly proud of their young team and hopeful about the future. Considering that the Pistons won a playoff game for the first time since 2008, and Cade Cunningham is only going to get better, there is no reason to be anything but optimistic about Detroit basketball.
For the Pistons to continue building a sustainable winner, however, they need to nail their offseason decisions. In his second summer as the Pistons GM, Trajan Langdon has a few key decisions to make, most notably the free agency of important contributors.
Malik Beasley Must Be Top Pistons Priority This Offseason
Tim Hardaway Jr, Dennis Schroder, Malik Beasley, and Paul Reed will hit free agency this offseason. While the Pistons would ideally want to retain all four veterans, they should prioritize Beasley.
After signing a one-year, $6 million deal with Detroit last year, Beasley became one of the best bargain contracts in the league. The 28-year-old shooting guard was one of the best shooters in the NBA once again. In 82 appearances and 27.8 minutes per game, Beasley hit 41.6% of his threes on a whopping 9.3 attempts per game. That combination of volume and accuracy is essentially unmatched in the league.
Beasley's proven shooting ability gives him a ton of off-ball gravity, creating spacing for Cade Cunningham. It also gives the Pistons another veteran to rely on when they need a basket. Replacing Beasley's shooting would be close to impossible for Detroit this offseason.
The nine-year veteran said that he never had "as much fun coming to the gym" as he did as a Piston and that he would want to stay in Detroit going forward, according to HoopsHype's Michael Scotto.
While this is a good sign for Detroit's chances of re-signing the sharpshooter, the Pistons will need to give him a lucrative, long-term deal that will beat other offers. Beasley likely earned himself double his annual salary in a multi-year deal. Let's see if the Pistons value him the same way.