Reacting To The Athletic’s Detroit Pistons Free Agent Target List

Reacting To The Athletic’s Detroit Pistons Free Agent Target List

What is going on you guys? Anthony here with Pistons Talk. Happy Friday. Hope you guys are enjoying this beautiful weather here in Michigan or if you don’t live in Michigan enjoying summer, spring so far. Uh finally nice out. Love it. I’m inside actually making a video ironically. But in today’s video, what I wanted to talk with you guys about is a free agency target list from The Athletic. And the person that wrote this was the Detroit Pistons beat reporter Hunter Patterson, who we’ve had on the podcast a couple of times this season, friend of the show. I wanted to react to his list um because I I I think this is a a very solid list. I think Hunter has a really good grasp on um not only what the fans want, but what might the Detroit Pistons look at this free agency. So, let’s go over and react to his list. Pistons free agency, Nas Reed, Bobby Porters, and six more players Detroit could target. So, in total, they’re going to be eight players we’ll be looking at and reacting to, and I’ll kind of give you guys my overall thoughts with this list, and if I see any of these guys as a possible free agent target for your Detroit Pistons. So, let’s get into it. So, the first player in this list, Nas Reed, very popular amongst Pistons fans right now. He has a player option. He’ll be 26 years old going into next season. He’s 69, has a 73 wingspan, can opt in with the Timberwolves because he’s got one more year on a contract that he signed for $15 million. And his stats this season are pretty impressive. He only averaged 27 and a half minutes a game. And he put up 14 points, shot 46% from the field, almost 38% from three, 37.9, six rebounds, and 2.3 assist. That’s really impressive if you ask me for a guy that doesn’t start, comes off the bench, backing up a Rudy Gobear. Now, here’s one thing. when I’m looking at Hunter’s maybe argument for a Nas Reed and I I’m going to have a little push back on this. So he says the big man fits the Detroit Pistons timeline of the core age that that I agree with. Nas is 26. He would fit with the core of this team and he’s a prototypical stretch for I agree there. He’s the c he’s accustomed of coming off the bench and Tobias Harris has started in his last 586 games. This is where I have some push back on it. Nas Reed has come off the bench for Minnesota for a majority of his career. That is a fact. Tobias Harris has almost started in his last 600 games as a fact. Here’s my thing though. If Nas were to opt out of his contract and he’s looking to get paid, wouldn’t you assume he’d like to be a starter? Wouldn’t you assume that if he’s making 20 to 28 million a year, he wants to be a starter? Not to say that if he were to opt out, get paid, and coming off the bench, he might be happy. He might be one of those guys that, hey, I’m making, you know, 25 million as a bench player. He could just my assumption if you know Minnesota however their season ends whether you know they they get bounced in the Western Conference Finals or they make the NBA Finals, lose in the finals or win the title. Uh I think Nas Reed is a player that maybe he feels that he’s good enough to be a starter and he doesn’t have to come off the bench anymore. Um that’s where I have some push back with it. Like who’s to say uh you make room for Nas Reed and you think he can be your power forward next to Jaylen Durren and Tobias is coming off the bench. That’s where I’m like hold on. Like if you were to get Nas Reed like do you automatically just give Tobias that starting spot like maybe you have conversations about like hey we want to see how uh Nas and Duran do together. I mean I know JB when he was in Cleveland had that two big lineup. Obviously, he didn’t do it this year. Um, I don’t know if it was more of just a thing of where he wanted Stu off the bench to play back up center. It could be a thing where he didn’t have the same personnel as he did in Cleveland, but like if the Pistons were to get a Nas Reed, uh, I would assume that Nas would at least want to get starter minutes, get 30 minutes a game because I think he’s talented enough to, you know, play a stretch four next to a Jaylen Durham. But hey, man, that’s just my opinion. That’s why we react to these videos because we’re all going to have different opinions. There is some contract details though I do want to point out with Nas Reed and it has to do with this you know can opt in for a player option at 15 million. So if we go over to spot track which my favorite website if you guys want to look up contracts you guys want to look up uh player options you know when players have to opt in spot track is the best app for that. They’re not paying me at all. I just love spot track. So shout out to them. So if we look down here with contract notes with Nazare and this is the player option that the Athletic was pointing out the 15 million uh he’ll be 26. So he has until June 30th so next month whether or not he wants to opt into that 15 million or if he doesn’t opt in he becomes an unrestricted free agent and then he can test the market that way. So, I think that’s a very important date to keep an eye on June 30th, whether or not he wants to opt in with the Timberwolves for another season or he wants to opt out and test what he can get in the open market in free agency. But, I like the Nas Reed name. I think it’s a very solid name in in my personal opinion. I I’ve liked Nas Reed for so long. I remember when the Pistons had I can’t remember if it was the Seikku draft. I don’t remember what class he was in. I think they had like 15, 30, and 45. I wanted Nas in the second round and then he goes undrafted and I was like, man. Uh, but he he’s he’s he’s just been a really good player. He’s developed quite a bit. I know someone’s going to say like, “Oh, we can’t have Nas Reed because him and Ron fought.” Like, you know, they they they could probably just be men about it and just laugh about it because like that whole altercation and fight was more of like a Dante and a Ron thing than a Nas thing. Like I I I I watched it the other day like nothing really happened outside of like Ron just, you know, going up for a a defensive play on the ball. But honestly, I I like this name uh by The Athletic. We’re going to go over to the second option they have for the Pistons in free agency. So the second player in this list is Bobby Portoris. Huh. I feel like we’ve talked about Bobby Poris on this YouTube channel cuz we have. Uh he’s on a player option. He’s gonna be 30 going into next season. He’s 6’10”, has a 72 wingspan. Uh he’s got an optin for 13.4 million. And if you look at his stats, they’re almost identical to Nas Reed, and he plays a minute to a minute to two less minutes per game than Nas does. So 13.4 points a game, 46.6 from the field, 36.5 from three, uh 8.4 four rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 25 minutes a game. I’ve always been a a really big Bobby Portoris uh supporter. Um I think in Detroit it would just be absolute cinema. Um having a guy that can come off your bench, stretch the floor, rebound the basketball, and just really give you like energy off the bench. That’s Bobby Portoris to a te. Now again, it’s it’s a player option. Now, if you we go over the spot track and look at his player option, he’ll be 30 in going into next season, $13.4 million um would be the optin to stay with the Bucks, but he would only have until June 29th to make up his decision. So, uh he has uh one less day than Naz Reed to make up his decision. So, I think there could be a situation where you don’t know what happens with Giannis in his future. There’s so many rumors rumbling right now where he’s going to go. Um, does he go to San Antonio? Does he go to OKC? Like, who knows, right? Uh, Damen Lillard and his um ruptured Achilles. Like, what what’s kind of go going on there in Milwaukee? So, I mean, Milwaukee has players like Brook Lopez who’s going to be a free agent. Bobby Portoris can opt out. He can test free agency. Now, what is his price point? I’m not really entirely sure, you guys. he can opt in for 13.4 million. I mean, could you have conversations about a market for Bobby Porters being anywhere from 15 to like 21 on the high end possibly? It really depends on which team is really heavily pursuing him. I do like that he’s 30. I do like that he does have, you know, NBA experience, NBA championship experience. Won a championship with the Bucks a few seasons ago. I just feel like when we talk about culture, guys, we talk about just seamless fits. I feel like Bobby would just be such a great fit for the Detroit Pistons. And I feel like Pistons fans in general, maybe they’re not too familiar with him. I think they would kind of fall in love with him because I think he brings so much great qualities to a locker room. Just have to make sure that he doesn’t take the wrong drugs. Um, if you guys remember earlier uh this year, he he took a drug that was actually banned in the NBA and he got suspended 25 games for it. But like overall, I’ve always been a very very big Bobby Portoris supporter. Uh, but I do like this name drop uh from The Athletic. Let’s go over to the third option they have and this is a guy that I know a lot of you guys have talked about as well. So, let’s go see who it is. So, the third player on this list is Santi Alama. He’s going to be a RFA or a restricted free agent going into this summer. He’ll be 24 next season. He’s 6’11 with a 611 wingspan. Made $3.9 million last year. Still on a rookie scale contract. Has some pretty impressive stats if you do ask me. 12 a.5 points, 48.3% from the field, 36.8 from three, 6.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 25 and a half minutes a game. Now, Hunter does kind of lay out why it could be a little tricky. So, he says, “While the Memphis Grizzlies will ultimately have the final say on whether Aldama leaves in free agency, the Pistons have projected more cap space than the Grizzlies since Aldama is restricted free agent. Memphis will be able to match any offer that comes Alama’s way. And the Grizzlies have a good reason to considering Aldama average career highs and points, rebounds, assists, steals, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage this season. He’s the second youngest player on this list. And he’s an essential sevenfooter that almost shot 37% from beyond the ark. the RFA could get a little tricky because if you try to get in the bidding war with the Grizzlies, they can match any offer. And I I think that’s what’s so hard about when you try to go after restricted free agents, but Aldama does fit what you’re looking for. He’s young, can stretch the floor, can fit seamlessly off the bench. Um you could have him out there in crunch type situations. 611. I like the name. It’s just it gets a little difficult uh with the restricted free agent stuff. Now, you know, could the Pistons make the Grizzlies sweat? Absolutely. Have more cap space than the Grizzlies. Uh but I don’t really know if you want to go into free agency like really, you know, trying to outbid um the Grizzlies and maybe, you know, you spend a little bit too much cap space on one player and then it you can’t really fill out your bench. But I like the the Santi Aldama name drop uh by the Athletic here. I wouldn’t really be mad at it. I I think he’s severely underrated. Don’t really hear a lot of people talk about him um like on a national level, but I’ve always liked him as a player. Grizzlies always find really good guys uh in the draft every year. Number four on this list is a guy that you’re probably familiar with. Carris Levert uh played with the Cleveland Cavaliers, eventually got traded to the Atlanta Hawks for DeAndre Hunter. He’ll be 31 going into next season. Uh he’s 67 with a 610 wingspan. Made 16.6 million last season. Put up 12 points a game on 46.7 uh% shooting from the field, 37.3 from three, 3.4 assists, 3.2 two rebounds in 24.9 minutes a game. Now, if you’re looking for maybe a player that can, you know, get you some buckets, you probably would target a Caris Levert. Now, he’s a UFA, so you know, any team in the NBA can go out and offer him a contract. My only thing with Caris Levert is at times he’s inconsistent and then it’s injuries on top of it. And he made $16.6 million last season. He’s probably looking to get one more payday before maybe eventually he does retire or if he does go somewhere, maybe it’s a contender and he kind of takes less. Um, I think the Pistons are kind of in the the playoff circle. I don’t really know if I would call them like like a true contender yet. I think they’re up and coming in and the future’s bright. Uh but 16.6 million is a lot for Caris Levert. I said this free agency, he could be looking for him anywhere from maybe like 18 to 22 or even more. You never really know. I mean, he is 31. Um for me, I think I would pass. Not to say that I don’t think he’s a good player. I I just I kind of question what his role would be. Like if you were to get a Caris Levert, you’re not going to throw a SAR out of the starting lineup. He’d be coming off the bench. So would he kind of like be a a Tim Hardaway replacement? Like that’s where I’m going at. And I think I would rather see with Jade Ivy coming back. maybe give Marcus Sasser some of those minutes because you really didn’t get to see, you know, a bunch of him last season. You know, Marcus Sasser got to uh watch a lot off the bench of watching Malik and Tim and all those guys play. So, um to me, I think I would pass on a a carouser. So, number five is probably the one player on this list that a lot of Pistons fans are probably going to hit me with the Snoop Dogg who uh Trendan Watford. Uh he’ll be 24 going into next season, 68 72 wingspan, made se uh 2.7 million uh last season with the Brooklyn Nets. Put 10.2 points up a game, 46.9% from three, 33% from three, 3.6 6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 20.8 minutes a game. Now, to me, if you were to go after a guy like this is under the radar, it’s not a needle mover like Hunter does kind of suggest, but uh you’re just kind of banking on him getting better as a player and his potential. Um to me, he kind of reminds me of a Royce O’Neal. Um he’s just kind of a glue guy that can do everything okay, but nothing elite like can rebound, can shoot a little bit, can defend. Like nothing crazy to where you’re like, “Oh, wow. We got Trent, we got uh Trenton Watford, like you know, we’re going to the championship. Like we’re going to make the finals, right?” No. Uh but he’s one of those kind of like bench guys that could provide um just consistency. So maybe you go after him, maybe you don’t. I don’t really think you’d have to break the bank to get him. He could be under the radar acquisition to kind of fill out your bench. But um number five on this list to me I think is a little high. But hey, these lists are always very very hard. Um I’m kind of like in the middle. Like I wouldn’t really care whether or not we signed him because I know it’s not going to break the bank. But that was number five on this list. Number six on this list is Cam Thomas. season name that you’ve probably heard of. Uh he’s going to be an RFA or restricted free agent. He’ll be 24 going into next season. He’s 6’3, has a 67 wingspan, made $4 million last season. Uh put up 24 points a game on 43.8% shooting. Um 34.9 from three, 3.8 assist, 3.3 rebounds, and 31.2 minutes a game. Now, Hunter kind of lays out why he has Cam Thomas six on his list out of eight. is because he expects the Nets to resign him. And I tend to agree um with Hunter there. I mean, the Nets probably don’t want to lose a a certified bucket getter like a Cam Thomas, but I’d be lying to you guys to say if I wouldn’t like a Cam Thomas on the Detroit Pistons. I know a lot of Pistons fans are saying, “Hey man, we need an ISO scoreer. We need someone to just take over these games down the stretch.” Um that’s Cam Thomas to a te. Cam Thomas, the one elite skill he has is putting the ball in the basket. Now, he only made $4 million. I expect him to make way more than $4 million because uh his rookie scale contract uh is up. The Nets are going to have to pay him. Now, what does that cost? I don’t know. I’d assume probably it starts at 20 million a year and you can kind of go up from there. Um but hey, crazier things have happened. Maybe the negotiations just go out the window. Uh maybe there’s a trade. Who knows? But uh Cam Thomas is just a ISO score, a bucket getter on the Pistons would be a lot of fun. Don’t really know how realistic it would be though. Number seven is actually kind of funny. It’s Quinton Grimes. He’ll be a restricted free agent going into this summer. Uh he’ll be 25 going into next season. 6’4 68 wingspan. Made $4.2 $.2 million uh this season with the Mavericks and the 76ers. Uh he put up 14.6 points a game on 46.7% shooting, 38 and a half% from three, 4.3 rebounds, three assists, and 26.8 minutes per game. Okay, the reason why I said this is funny is because one of Tan Langston’s first moves was to move Quinton Grimes for Tim Hardaway. He got three draft picks out of it. And one of the draft picks that we got is the Pistons only second round pick. This would be 3D chess if you’re Training Lang. You trade him for Tim. Uh you get draft picks and you resign him. He’s your prototypical 3 and D wing. I really felt like his scoring uh was really shown more uh with the 76ers. Not to say that his scoring in Dallas wasn’t noticeable. I think in Dallas, what you really saw is him kind of being lower on the pecking order with Kyrie, but being able to still kind of produce and score with the Mavs. Um, but you really saw him kind of get into more of a first second option with Philly with all the injuries uh that they did have. I know a lot of Pistons fans were extremely upset when Tjan did trade Quinton Grimes here, but I mean, he’s looking to get paid. He’s an RFA. Now, whether Philly matches any offer they get for him, I don’t really know. Philly is just such a weird situation. I mean, there’s reports today that they want to trade the third overall pick for a a player. Um, don’t really know like how they feel about Quinton Grimes longterm. Obviously, he’s looking to get paid as well. Um, now what does a contract for a Quinton Grimes look like? Uh, because he still kind of like on a rookie scale deal. Um, you’re probably looking at 1520, maybe more, uh, for a Quinton Grimes. Um, I I think there is definitely an appeal there for his shooting and his defense. We just didn’t get to see it here in Detroit. He was injured when we traded for him. He was injured when he played for us. That’s why he only played, I think, maybe five or six games with the Pistons. But, uh, that would definitely be a full circle moment. You trade you trade the guy, you resign him, and you get draft capital. Uh, it’s kind of like what the Tigers did with Jack Flity. Uh, they trade him to the Dodgers, they get Sweeney, and then they resign him, and it’s just kind of like a full circle moment. Don’t really know if Quinton Grimes feels the same way about Detroit as Jack Flity does, but hey, crazier things have happened in the NBA, but reading the Quinton DR Quinton Grimes name kind of made me chuckle a little bit. So, the eighth and final player on this list is another center we’ve talked about on the podcast previously. It’s Steven Adams. Uh, he’ll be 32 going into next season. 611 with the 75 wingspan, made 12.6 million with the Rockets this year. Don’t really let the stats fool you because he only played 13 minutes a game, 3.9 points, shot 54 and a half% from the field, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assist. Now, with Adams, I think where it gets a little difficult and tricky, um, if you’re the Pistons is you have Jaylen Duran, Steve, you wouldn’t sign Steven Adams and take Dur spot. I I just want to get that out there. Some people thought that’s what I meant last time I talked about him. At this stage of his career, he’s a backup. You have Isaiah Stewart, and I think that’s where it gets a little difficult because I think Stu did such a phenomenal job backing up Jaylen Dur, especially his defense and protecting the rim. Adams, I think, could really help you in a couple of areas. Rebounding is one of them, setting screens and passing. Uh those are things that he does very very well still at 31 years old. He’ll be 32 going into next season. Um I I think you’d have a hell of a time trying to sell him being a a third string center because I think there’s still a lot left in the tank for him to at least be a contributor, you know, backing up uh a starting center. I like the Stephen Adams name. I just don’t know how realistic it is. Um, unless there are these teams around the NBA that just don’t want to sign them and then you kind of it’s like, hey, we got a Paul Reed replacement, right? But, um, I just don’t know how realistic a Stephen Adams name is. Let me know what you guys think of those names from the Athletic. There’s a lot of restricted free agents, guys on player options. I think this free agency for the Pistons is either going to be extremely quiet or they make some trades to free up cap space. But love to hear from you guys. Hope you guys are enjoying this beautiful day. Until next time, have a great day and as always, go past. Peace. [Music] Ooh. Uh-huh. [Music]

Join me in this video as I react to The Athletic’s Detroit Pistons Free Agent Target List! Find out who the potential free agents are and who the Pistons could be targeting in the upcoming season.
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