The Detroit Pistons ended their playoff drought this season and pushed the New York Knicks to the limit in their opening-round playoff series. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals as Cade Cunningham and company fell to the Knicks in six games.
While the future is undoubtedly bright with the pieces Detroit has in place, there will be changes that are made this offseason as there are each and every year. Despite his play this past season, one player in particular should be thanked for his contributions to the team and wished the best of luck with his future endeavors once free agency opens later this summer.
Pistons Should Let Free Agent PG Dennis Schroder Walk This Offseason
Schroder joined the Pistons this past season for the stretch run after Detroit took part in a multi-team deal to acquire the veteran guard. The former first-round pick performed admirably with the Pistons and helped them secure a spot in the postseason with his 28 regular season appearances for the team by averaging 10.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 25.2 minutes per game.
In any other situation, Schroder would be viewed as a piece with entirely too much value to give up. However, the Pistons are in a unique spot as Schroder was largely brought in to serve as a replacement for injured guard Jaden Ivey. With Ivey expected to be ready for training camp and fully healthy for the 2025-26 campaign, there just isn't the need for Schroder moving forward like there was in February when he was first brought to Motor City.
By allowing Schroder to walk as a free agent, the playing time originally set aside for Ivey is available again and the money that would have gone to Schroder can be allocated elsewhere. At first glance, depth behind Tobias Harris would be an area that I would expect for the Pistons' front office to look at when scouring the free agent market.
Shooting guard is another area where depth could be seen as a need as Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley could be pursued by other teams as well once they hit the open market. Detroit could very well have some hesitation to spend money to retain those veteran guards when they have a talented young player already in place at that position in Ausar Thompson.
Regardless of the positions the Pistons choose to prioritize when upgrading their roster, Detroit does not own a first round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft as of this writing, the money freed up by letting Schroder walk should provide them with opportunities to attract high-value free agents.