The Detroit Pistons have lost another key member from their 2024-25 roster after veteran point guard Dennis Schroder agreed to a three-year, $45 million contract with the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.
The difference between this departure and Schroder's is quite surprising, however. Schroder's fit in Detroit was uncertain with the return of Jaden Ivey, and it made sense for him to find a location where he could be a key contributor.
His veteran counterpart in Detroit, however, has elected to leave the Pistons and head to the Western Conference but it wasn't a lucrative pay day that drew him away from the Motor City.
Tim Hardaway Jr. Disrespects Detroit on Way Out With New Contract
According to Tony Jones of The Athletic, free agent swingman Tim Hardaway Jr. has agreed to a deal with the Denver Nuggets, officially ending his tenure with the Pistons. Seeing Hardaway Jr. join the Nuggets isn't why this was a surprising move, though. It had less to do with the destination and everything to do with the pay cut he took to head there.
The Denver Nuggets are getting Tim Hardaway Jr. for the Vet Minimum, according to league sources. Shocking they can get a guy of that caliber on that contract, but the market is drying up, so the Nuggets got a bit fortunate there
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) July 1, 2025
Hardaway Jr. will sign a one-year deal with Denver for the veteran's minimum, per Jones. Needless to say, regardless of how dry the market has become since the start of free agency, landing Hardaway Jr. for the minimum is an absolute steal for Denver and, quite honestly, a slap in the face for Detroit.
This past season, Hardaway Jr. appeared in 77 games for the Pistons, starting in all of them, and averaged 11.0 points, while shooting 36.8% from beyond the arc, to go along with 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 28 minutes per game.
His play helped Detroit end its longstanding postseason drought, and his play helped the Pistons push the New York Knicks to the limit in their first-round playoff series. To enjoy that type of success in the same state where Hardaway Jr. was a college star, only to leave for the vet minimum, is certainly going to leave a bad taste in the mouths of fans in Detroit.
While the Pistons have added veteran guard Caris LeVert to the roster this summer, losing both Schroder and Hardaway Jr. couldn't have been part of the plan for Trajan Langdon and company. Given the uncertainty surrounding Malik Beasley, there is a better than good chance that all the veteran wings Detroit relied upon last season will be gone once the 2025-26 campaign tips off.