The Detroit Pistons will look for different ways to add more offensive firepower this summer. Whether it's using their draft capital in a trade or using their cap flexibility to sign someone in free agency, the Pistons are expected to be aggressive in the offseason. Their top priorities will be ballhandling, shooting, and playmaking.
While plenty of attention is being given to who the Pistons can trade for, there hasn't been too much focus on potential free agent acquisitions.
The Pistons don't have the cap space to sign a star free agent. There isn't anyone in this year's free agent class that would warrant a max contract from the Pistons, anyway. Detroit could clear up cap space by trading a few players like Caris LeVert and Isaiah Stewart and then give an offer sheet to Austin Reaves, but that doesn't seem realistic.
The more plausible route is for the Pistons to re-sign their own free agents and use their remaining room to bring in a quality free agent. Detroit wants to retain both Jalen Duren and Tobias Harris, so they will have very limited cap space unless they make trades to clear cap room.
What they will have, however, is the non-taxpayer midlevel exception. This starts at $15.1 million for next season. They could use some or all of this exception to add more offense.
One of the players they can use it on is former Piston Quentin Grimes.
Quentin Grimes is a sneaky good fit in Detroit
The 26-year-old shooting guard is an unrestricted free agent after a healthy and productive season with the Philadelphia 76ers. His previous tenure in Detroit was a disappointment, as he only played six games because of a nagging knee injury. He was then traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Tim Hardaway Jr. in the 2024 offseason.
Even though Grimes wasn't able to show this to Pistons fans, he is a quality starting-caliber shooting guard. He is not as elite a shooter as Hardaway Jr. or Malik Beasley, but he can do a lot more than them with the ball in his hands. He can be a secondary creator, run some pick-and-roll, and attack the basket. He is also a better defender than the aforementioned former Pistons.
The Sixers have Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe in the backcourt, so they may have little interest in paying Grimes a multi-year deal. The Pistons could take advantage of this and bring him back to Detroit.
The full non-taxpayer MLE should certainly be enough to sign Grimes. Thanks to his age and easy fit, Grimes should continue to have some value around the league. If the Pistons want to pivot or another opportunity emerges, Grimes can always be used as a trade chip on that contract.
The Pistons have a lot of options in the offseason. It's hard to tell which direction they will go in free agency and the trade market, but Grimes wouldn't be a bad player to end up with, regardless of the other moves.
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