The Pistons are looking to build upon a successful 44-38 win season, which saw them finish sixth in the East. Overall, the Pistons were 14th in net rating (+1.6), 11th in defensive rating (113.5), and 16th in offensive rating (115.1). Their half-court offense was particularly weak, ranking just 19th.
Trajan Langdon must prioritize adding offensive talent and shooting alongside Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson. Fortunately, there are a number of attractive shooters hitting free agency in July. Naz Reid and Santi Aldama are two of the bigger names at the forward/center spot expected to attract interest from opposing teams, per The Athletic's Hunter Patterson.
Both are restricted free agents, but the Grizzlies and Wolves are already paying max money to a number of their stars and may not be able to match an offer sheet to retain these talented bigs.
Naz Reid is clearly the more polished player of the two, as he has demonstrated an ability to perform in the playoffs for two straight seasons while also being less of a defensive liability than Santi Aldama. Through 10 games of the playoffs, Reid is shooting a ridiculous 47% from three and 67% effectively from the field. His offensive efficiency has been a huge reason why the Wolves have won each of their series in five games, and now enter their OKC series with lots of rest.
Reid has also taken a playmaking leap this season, averaging a career high of 2.3 assists per game after being at 1.3 assists per game last year. His on-off net-rating swing was also a career high this regular season as the T-wolves were +6.8 points better per 100 possessions with Naz Reid on the court vs when he was off the floor. That net rating swing led the Wolves this season.
The 25-year-old combo big has established himself as one of the best offensive bigs in the league, and he is certainly a safer bet than Aldama. Still, this reality will also cause him to be much more expensive than Aldama and Langdon may not have the flexibility to offer Reid what he wants if he also wants to retain Malik Beasley and Dennis Schroder.
Looking at Aldama, he is just 24 years old and won't turn 25 until January. He has demonstrated his ability to shoot the ball from deep consistently throughout his career, but took a massive step in increasing his efficiency from inside the arc this season. He finished the year with a career-high 57.7% effective field goal percentage.
Aldama is potentially more intriguing than Naz Reid, given what he showed as a passer, posting an excellent 0.84 assist-to-usage rate this season. Aldama has shown he can be an effective offensive player who can do more than just catch and shoot, but there are certainly defensive concerns with him. Given what the identity of this Pistons team was last season, I think that Langdon may be a little hesitant to target a player with a reputation like Aldama.
Reid and Aldama are great targets for the Pistons this offseason. I'd argue they should prioritize Naz Reid over retaining a guard like Dennis Schroder, but if they want to prioritize continuity, they could target Aldama for a cheaper number than what Reid will command.