The Detroit Pistons will almost certainly make big changes to the roster this offseason. The fans are expecting big swings from the front office to add more offense to the team. The Pistons have some cap space and assets to be active in both the free agent and trade markets.
While most of the focus has been given to potential star acquisitions, the Pistons also need to fill out the rest of the roster. The NBA Playoffs are proving once again how important depth is in today's league, and Detroit needs to find as many quality contributors as it can this summer.
Landry Shamet's playoff emergence makes him fascinating FA target
Shooting is clearly the most important need for the Pistons. As the premium skill in today's NBA, a team can't have too many shooters on their roster. Therefore, in addition to the starting-caliber players the Pistons must acquire this summer, they will need to find backup sharpshooters as well.
That is why targeting a player like Landry Shamet in free agency makes a ton of sense.
The 29-year-old shooting guard has emerged as an unlikely playoff hero for the New York Knicks. In Game 3 against the Cavaliers, Shamet hit 4/5 from three for 14 points to help his team get out to a 3-0 lead. Now, the Knicks are one win away from making the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
Throughout the playoffs, Shamet has been a secret weapon for the Knicks. Even getting to close a few games over Josh Hart, the veteran backup made 54.8% of his threes in these playoffs. Shamet has made over 39% of his attempts from downtown over his past two seasons in New York. That type of production and accuracy is exactly what the Pistons need on their bench.
The Pistons have a ton of physicality, athleticism, and defense on the roster. What they need to do is to find more offense and shooting without sacrificing their defensive identity. Shamet certainly doesn't have elite athletic or physical tools, but he has decent positional size at six-foot-five. For a 15-minute role off the bench, he is more than capable of holding his own defensively.
Shamet will be a free agent this summer. After playing on minimum contracts each of the last two seasons, Shamet may now be in line for a bigger payday. The Pistons shouldn't be paying a backup shooting guard an eight-figure salary, but they may not have better options out there for an annual average salary in the range of $5 million.
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