It's been a rough few years for the Detroit Pistons. They haven't finished higher than 13th or won more than 23 games since 2019, and in 2022-23 clocked up just 17 victories – the second lowest number in their history – before losing out in the Victor Wembanyama stakes despite their best efforts.
But despite missing out on Wemby, they appear to finally be compiling a solid foundation of talent, and Monty Williams at the helm should help too. With Cade Cunningham, the raw but talented Jaden Ivey and the slowly improving Killian Hayes controlling the backcourt, and names like Isaiah Stewart, Marvin Bagley III, Jalen Duren and James Wiseman as their bigs, there is talent there to work with, and what's more they've got a whole lot of cap space this summer to sign a free agent or two.
That makes this summer a big one for the Pistons. With a lot of undeveloped but potentially good NBA players on their roster, they need to find a way to bolster their team through free agency while continuing to harness their existing talent, and avoid certain names who may curtail their improvement. With that in mind, these are two free agents that Detroit should avoid this offseason.
1. Caris LeVert
As a previously long-suffering Brooklyn Nets fan, I get no pleasure out of saying anything negative about Caris LeVert. In Brooklyn his talent was plain to see, but injuries wreaked havoc on his career and refused to allow him to get the continuity he required to fulfil it on a consistent basis. Now in Cleveland, he's a punchy off the bench scorer who still has value at an NBA level, but as a free agent that Detroit could potentially target he's someone who they should instead avoid.
In some ways, LeVert could be seen to fill a need for the Pistons. They're pretty set for ball-handlers and bigs, and he could theoretically slot in as a wing-type capable of scoring when needed and defending to a pretty high level.
But his ability to make plays and read the game has at times been a problem, and is one area in which he hasn't come on as much as it looked like he might earlier in his career. When he gets the ball, often it ends up being a LeVert possession, with few if any other players on the court getting a touch. With so many young players needing development, and many of them primary or secondary ball-handlers, a player like Caris LeVert might end up getting in the way.
2. Dillon Brooks
Well hasn't this guy made a name for himself this season, though not necessarily in the way he would have wanted. Dillon Brooks managed to establish himself as public enemy number one in the NBA over the course of the Memphis Grizzlies ultimately disappointing season, with his bizarre trash talk and wildly unjustified confidence making headlines far more often than anybody wanted it to.
He won't be returning to the Grizzlies, but this free agent isn't one the Pistons should be calling up in a hurry, despite rumors that they might. He's a really good defender and his unquestionable thirst for the contest could be beneficial in some ways for a young side such as the Pistons, but his value for them stops right about there.
On the court, Brooks shoots way too often given his ability – he's a career 41.6% from the field, and over the last two seasons he's connected on 30.9% and 32.6% of his three-point attempts. That doesn't stop him taking them though. Aside from that being detrimental to whichever team he's on, it's also something which will be stunt the growth of the Pistons' young players, taking the ball out of their hands and shots away from them.
The off-court distractions which appear certain to follow Brooks around would also be unwelcome for the young Detroit team. His competitiveness could be beneficial, but we saw this year that he's got some work to do managing that. Given the Pistons have won an average of 20 games over the past four seasons, they're not exactly in a position to have a player mouthing off about how good they are, and they'd be best off avoiding the pressure that would place on them.
The Detroit Pistons have a big summer ahead of them, and a good pickup or two in the NBA free agency period could really position them well moving forward. On the flip side, however, a wrong move has the potential to stunt the growth which they so desperately need to show. Both Caris Levert and Dillon Brooks certainly have a place in the NBA and could be valuable additions to the right team, but the Pistons are not that team.
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