BREAKING: Detroit Pistons Sign Caris LeVert, In Talks On Sign-And-Trade For Malik Monk!

on day one of free agency the Detroit Pistons signed Carris Levert to a two-year contract And in today’s episode I’ll tell you guys why I’m not the biggest fan of this trade and why there’s more to come for the Detroit Pistons in free agency I’ll tell you guys all of that Today’s episode Locked on Pistons podcast Let’s go You are Locked on Pistons your daily Detroit Pistons podcast Part of the Locked Onet Your team every day What’s the deal welcome back to another episode of the Locked On Pistons podcast Per usual I’m your host Cookah Hill I’ve been covering the Detroit Pistons for the last four years with the Locked On Network Been credential media member for the last three years I appreciate all of you guys’ support All of you guys that make this podcast your first listen every single day Hit that subscribe button to the YouTube channel if you haven’t already We have crossed 11,000 subscribers I appreciate all of you guys Now we’re working our way to 12,000 Let’s get there hopefully before the start of the season And also you guys can leave us a fivestar review on whatever podcast platform you’re listening to us on That’s another great way to support the podcast And today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel Right now new customers you can get $150 in bonus bets when your first $5 bet wins In today’s episode later on I’ll be breaking down the rumors about Malik Monk potentially being signed and traded to the Detroit Pistons and what I am hearing about what’s going on with that I’ll tell you guys all that later on Then we’ll discuss what’s next for the Pistons after they complete this Shruder signing trade if it happens after signing Levert What’s next for the Pistons what’s going on We’ll talk about that later as well But let’s start with Carris Levert And Caris Levert I see has caused a a division already within the Pistons community because some people like it and some people don’t Um well I want to start here with I want to start with the positives because I went to bed You guys I think a lot of people know I’m not a fan of this this signing but I went to bed and just try to give it some time look at some number like try to figure out something that makes me see some positives in it And the here are the positives Caris Levert theoretically is a bigger ball handler that can go get his own shot That is what Caris Levert is This past year for half the season with Cleveland and then half the season with Atlanta he was having the best year or he did have the best year of his career He shot 37% from the from deep He shot 47% from the floor He shot 55% on twos which is by far career best outside of his rookie season Much less volume He was by far much more efficient this past year 58 true shooting percentage That is it like way way blowing out any other season of his career when it comes to efficiency wise which we’ll get into later So if he can play like he did last year for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Atlanta Hawks it’s not as bad It won’t it won’t be as bad to me if he’s able to replicate how he played this past year for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Atlanta Hawks The problem that I have or actually let’s let’s let me let me continue to go with some of the positives The other positive he’s a fine defender He has size So this would allow you to play like a Marcus Sasser next to him because you have a bigger guard next to him who can check like the the bigger wings and Sasser can guard the point guard So if you want to go with that route you can do that He he’s bigger he’s longer he does give effort defensively He has he has shown at times throughout his career to be a fine defender Other times he hasn’t But last year he was a pretty good defender for Atlanta at least So he should theoretically allow you to play Sasser with him or any other smaller guard if you want to call Ivy a smaller guard I guess But I I’m more so thinking Sasser if they want to go that route And he’s a point guard He basically is going to I’m viewing this he’s going to take over Dennis Shooter’s role Shruder leaves So now Caris Levert will be your backup point guard basically is how I’m looking at it He’s going to be the guy running your offense He’s going to be the guy with the ball in his hands He’s going to be the guy you know soaking up all that usage That’s going to be him So he’s not coming in and replacing Malik or any anything like that He’s coming in and replacing Shruder He has size He played some defense He theoretically can create his own shot And this past year for this past season he did have the best season of his career where he shot 37% from deep 40% with Cleveland 33% with Atlanta Maybe he remains that efficient Maybe this past year is an outlier and he remains that efficient If he does it’s a much better signing So those are some of the positives Those are the best positives that I can come up with Also the contract by the way here’s another one The contract is 100% tradable You could trade at the deadline which I think is something that certainly could happen here It’s a two-year $29 million contract It’s not a long-term extension or not extension It’s not a long-term contract they signed them to That’s not too big of a deal with me You could do that with just about anybody you signed Like I’m not going to give like major grades for oh you signed player X to a two-year contract That’s a They could have signed multiple players here for a two-year contract Didn’t have to go four or five years with every single player Now maybe you would have had to in the kill Alexander Walker which is a fair account if you just don’t want to go long-term money with him Fair But there’s a bunch of other players of free agency you can offer a two-year mid-level exception to and would have got the same response Um but the contract is 100% tradable It’s not long-term and it’s you can flip it at the deadline That’s the other thing You have another midsize contract now So if the Pistons do want to make a trade in the season they don’t have to choose between Stu or Tobias Now they have someone else that maybe they don’t want as much that they can move They don’t have to move one of their valued players like that So that’s that is another positive Now here are the concerns for me and this is why I’m not a fan of this of the signing but I hope it works out Obviously I I hope it works out but I’m just not that big of a fan of it First reason Caris Levert over the last decade has been one of the most inefficient scorers on any type of volume in the entire league That’s not me being hyperbolic That’s not me exaggerating He has been one of the most inefficient scorers on any type of volume over the last 10 years From 2016 2017 season to the 24th season he has had a 52 true shooting percentage That is seven consecutive seasons over sevenyear stretch He has been you guys know how bad 52 true shooting percentage is League average now is like around 56% He seven consecutive years of being ext and this is not this is with him being inefficient and his primary like plus to him is hey I’m a scorer so but he’s just he’s for the large majority outside of one season we saw last year and maybe that one year is the outlier or maybe the seven years is the outlier and one year is what he actually is maybe let’s hope that’s the case that’s what I’m hoping for to be the case but for seven years he’s been one of the most inefficient scores when his main plus is I soak the ball up possessions up and I score That’s what I do So my question is unless he is as efficient as he was this past year and not over those seven years is he is is given an inefficient scorer who can’t play off ball needs the ball in his hands is giving him the ball and allowing him to soak up possessions worth not having the ball in Jane Ivy or Sar Thompson’s hands this upcoming year to get some ball handling out of them I I I’m I was under the impression that this upcoming season should be about evaluating your young guys and evaluating what they can and can’t do so you can make decisions on them Caris Caris is taking the ball out of Ivy and Assar’s hands if you wanted to see some more ball handling reps out of them The difference here for me between like for last year the Pistons went out and got veterans They got THA they got Malik they got Tobias Even if you didn’t like the Tobias contract which you guys knew I was fan I was a fan of I wanted them to get Tobias But even if you weren’t a fan of how much they paid Tobias all three of those guys theoretically made sense in helping elevate the young guys They provided spacing They provide Tobias provided size and actual spacing at the four positions What they needed THA and Malik played off of Cade played off of Ivy played off of Duran played off of Assar Those guys were movement shooters that spaced the floor out for them They didn’t need the ball in their hands brought gravity made it easier for them to operate on the floor Like that’s that those guys made sense Those guys raised the ceiling of your young guys I don’t think Caris Levert does that He can’t play off ball He is not an offball player Caris Levert is a pick and roll merchant He The only value you’re getting out of him on the floor is if you’re putting the ball in his hands and he’s running pick and rolls That is his only value He is not going to go play off ball He is not going to have space and gravity He’s not going to move and shoot He’s not going to cut all that often Last season he only cut He only has 19 cut possessions He’s not going to cut all the time He’s not some offball play He The only value you are getting out of Caris Levert is if you put the ball in his hands and you let him run pick and roll And I don’t see how that’s helping Jane Ivy I don’t see how that’s helping Assar having a guy who has to soak up possessions and he’s not efficient at doing so Unless you could last year he was efficient Yes last year was his first year ever being efficient If he can be last year maybe it works out But like I know the the main swing factor to me I I’ve just never thought and this is before free agency This isn’t just oh cool you’re being pessimistic because it’s the Pistons No I said this before free agency I’ve had this opinion of Caris Levert for years I have thought for years that Caris Levert is not a good player He is a guy who has to have the ball in his hands and is not efficient enough to have the ball in his hands as much as he needs it to And for me if he was that good at creating his own shot and if he was that good to where you’re okay with him taking the possessions up as much as he does for himself Cleveland wouldn’t have traded him and then Atlanta wouldn’t have gladly and willingly let him go so they could go get Nikquil Alexander Walker They got paid basically the same Nquille got just a little bit more like 1 million more If they felt that strongly about Caris Levert and him being able or and feel confident about putting the ball in his hands and let him just take over possessions as much as he does they felt that good They wouldn’t have immediately replaced him with Kila Alexander Walker who’s an offball player So another positive is that this past year he actually was very good in the pick and roll 90th percentile in 135 possessions This past year was his best year he ever had So hopefully he can replicate that But if you go before like all the other seasons you go 20 24 50th percentile on ball handlers despite having 300 possessions as a pick and roll ball handler He’s not he doesn’t play he’s not playing off ball Transition 38th percentile Spot up 20th percentile Isolation 20th percentile Handoff 22nd percentile That’s 2024 2023 17th percentile as a ball handler 39th percentile transition like only 53 possessions as a hand up 32 possessions offscreen 29 possessions as a cutter I just I hope he’s as efficient as last year and the amount of usage he’s about to take up on this team off the bench I hope it’s worth it I hope it’s worth it I hope he’s efficient because that’s the that’s all I got That’s all I got for it I much would have rather had an offball player a player who doesn’t need the ball in his hands to thrive and a player I believe actually raises the ceiling because by I don’t think you can play Caris with Kade You can’t play Caris and Kade together He doesn’t help Kade I don’t really see how he helps Kade out He’s not spacing the floor for Kade He’s not moving off the ball for Kade He’s not running in transition like that for Kade I don’t see how he helps Kade Now you could make the argument that he may help Ivy in regards to okay Ivy doesn’t have to run point guard anymore but I’ve been told for months that they want to see Ivy see if Ivy can be that combo guard that if he has to have responsibilities he can do it He’s not going to get those kind of reps now with Caris Levert So I I don’t know I I I’m just praying and hoping that he is efficient as he was this past year and it all becomes worth it But as far as fit especially with the news that we’re about to that we’re about to get into with Malik Monk I just don’t get it I I really I really don’t get it But maybe I’m wrong and maybe he comes out here and he continues to be super efficient like last year at seven years was the outlier and this past year is the new him Maybe so And if that’s the case you’ll deal with it But I I just I I don’t see the fit and I I don’t I don’t get it But let me know comment section down below or over on Twitter Cougar Hill Do you guys like the Caris Levert sign do you guys think the fit’s right do you guys think the fit’s wrong let me know how you guys feel Comment section down below or over on Twitter Cookie Hill Coming up Malik Monk being signed and traded to the Detroit Pistons I’ll tell you guys everything I’m hearing about what’s going on behind the scenes Coming up summer sports are in full swing And whether you’re all about baseball under the 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Have fun Check it out with FanDuel So I want to thank you guys again Make locked on Pistons your first listen of every single day We are free and available on all your podcast platforms If you haven’t already head to the YouTube channel at Lockdown Pistons Hit that subscribe button or leave us a fivestar review on whatever podcast platform you’re listening to us on That’s another great way to support the podcast Appreciate all of you guys’ support All of you guys making Lockdown Pistons your first list every single day Being everydayers I appreciate all of you guys And we like I said we crossed over 11,000 subscribers I appreciate all of you guys for that Um all right So if you guys were in the playback room yesterday which we had a ton of people in the playback room for a good four and a half hours we started up the playback at the beginning of free agency and we just stayed in there hung out talked about free agency and just reacted to all the news So if you and if they have some more news if some more stuff drops we probably will go live over there again So if you guys want to join us over there I’ll link it down in the description down below You can come hang out with all of us We had like 150 people in there consistently like four and a half hours But so if you guys want to join it go check it out Um but if you were watching yesterday you will see that around like 8:30ish I got up and said I had to go take a phone call Now that now that it’s all being talked about and it’s all being leaked out I had been hearing yesterday that the Pistons and the Kings were involved and we’re trying to get a Malik Monk signing trade to happen that sends Dennis Shruder to Sacramento and brings Malik Monk to the Pistons Now uh before we get into the fit uh do I like Malik Monk you know all that stuff I just want to tell you guys everything I’m hearing as of 11 a.m Everything I’ve heard since then First first thing I’ve heard is that the reason why one of the things I’ve heard is that the reason why it’s not finalized yet is there is a lot of of of they they are exploring all the possibilities and that includes potentially rerouting Malik Monk to a third team Now Malik Monk may end up just into with the Pistons and we’ll talk about that later I’d be fine with that I’ I’d actually be really happy with that But the options are being explored that okay if we don’t want Monk or if if is it possible for us to reroute Monk to another team that gets something maybe we want a little more I’ve heard that’s something that’s being explored as well I’ve also heard that the Pistons I have heard for the last two days now that the Pistons are desperately wanting to get off of Simone Fonteo’s contract And I I probably should have had Kyle on the podcast today for this It’s early He’s probably sleeping Kyle is the Pistons salary cap guru um in the Pistons community So he probably would make better he’d make this sound more understanding Um but this is just how I was told about it I’m not crazy with the CBA to really understand the exact rules of what they’re talking about but they are desperately trying to move off of Simony Fontio’s contract to create this outgoing salary because then that if they can for some way I don’t know if it’s with an exception or how exactly but the Pistons are trying to jump through a bunch of salary cap hoops try to get really creative by if they can send this outgoing salary of Strruder and and Fonteo and potentially they don’t have to do this but potentially THJ and then assigning trade with Malik This sends out enough salary to where they can try to be creative with another move that they want to make So if they can if they can find a way to include Tech maybe send him to a third team or maybe find somebody to take on Tech and also take up Malik while outgoing the salary of Shruder and and Tech that frees up your flexibility even more to go after maybe another guy in a signing trade So all of that that’s where I’m hearing is kind of holding it up I know somebody I I saw I think it was Brett Sigel reported that he heard that it’s the Kings that are holding up this signing trade uh that they want more uh from the Pistons I would say that that’s not what I heard yesterday That’s not what I’ve heard That certainly could be the case now though Like I as of yesterday that’s not what I heard was going on But there’s been so much outrage I don’t know if you guys have saw there has been so much outrage from the Kings fan base after this news was leaked that certainly c I could certainly see that they saw that that outrage and was like okay we got to try let’s let’s fall back a little bit we got to get something more in return so this doesn’t look as bad on like they don’t kill us as much that certainly could be on the board but as of yesterday that’s not what I heard that certainly could be the case now though I either way the Pistons are exploring ing all possibilities here That’s why it hasn’t been finalized My understanding they are they are trying to explore every possibility out there And they they really they really want to find a way to offload some money’s contract which to me if you really want to do that you can just attach two to three They they have a ton of seconds They have I think they have three in 2028 2029 and 2030 Like they have a bunch of seconds If they really want to get rid of Tech’s contract I’d think that you could just attach a couple seconds to get it worked and get get it worked out But maybe you know Traan talked about how the price to get into the first round was way more this offseason Maybe the price of just offloading Tech’s contract is way more this offseason because of the CBA Who knows i don’t know that But I do know I did know for a few hours beforehand that they’ve been trying the Malik Monks trade is very legit I know that Malik coming to the Pistons is certainly on the board but what’s on the board is also them maybe rerouting him to a third team That’s also making this go on a little bit longer And also I know that they’re trying to get Tech salary going out going as well to create some more flexibility for them And maybe if they can come to a terms with THJ where his first year is around like $19 million and the rest of his contract’s not guaranteed have that salary outgoing as well so they can add two players I know that’s that’s what’s that’s what’s circling right now in the Pistons front office They’re trying to get real creative and I can commend them for that for what’s happened with Malik They have to get creative They’re trying everything possible to try any way to kind of like you know keep the roster levelheaded after the bomb that is Malik Beasley not coming back or not Maybe not coming back is maybe a little strong but obviously we know what I’m talking about being investigated You have to move on etc etc Um now I’ll talk about what I feel about with Malik Monk Malik Monk would be great for this team I I absolutely love Malik Monk He’s developed ex like a ton as a playmaker He’s a become a really good passer a really good playmaker for four consecutive seasons I feel like he was very good Very good Before this past year I think for four consecutive seasons he was just flat out very good Really good score has become a really good playmaker Can play on and off ball That’s another thing I like about him He doesn’t have to have the ball in his hands running everything to be effective He can play on and he can play off the ball He was runner up for six man of the year just I believe wasn’t that last year or two years ago Malik Monk I think is a really good player Problem is this past year his three-point shooting fell down This is the inverse of the Caris Levert to me This past year he shot 32% from deep The previous four seasons Malik Monk on decent volume was shooting around 37% from deep I am going to trust that fouryear sample size over one year when he had a down year He has been a good shooter for the last from 2020 to 2024 he had been a good shooter and some of and a lot of that is coming off of pull-ups and difficult threes So I trust I I don’t think he’s all of a sudden a 32% three-pointer shooter We have a long sample of him being a good three-pointer I think he just had a down shooting season despite Oh hold on Oh my god Miles Turner went to the Bucks You guys are getting my live reaction here Miles Turner just left the Pacers and went to the Bucks Okay I got to stay on topic That’s I I can’t I That’s okay That All right let me get back to topic My fault Um that’s that’s crazy Um I think I think that Malik Monk is going to be a good shooter again He’s 26 years old I don’t think all of a sudden he stopped being able to shoot the ball The other thing is he has maintained as a really good finisher inside the ark He shot 53% on twos this year Over the last five years he’s been around a 54 55% shooter inside the ark So despite his three-point shot falling off this past year he remained a good finisher within the arc He remained good in the floater range He remained good in all of that He his three-point shot just fell off So Malik Monk I think is really good I like him I think he fits much much better with Ivy I think he fits much much better with Cade I think he fits much much better with Duran Assar I think he if you told me they went out and got him I would have been on because I think he fits much more clearly with what you want with the roster And I think he’s just by far much better a down season for uh a down season efficiency wise this past year for Malik Monk would have been a careerh high for Caris Levert outside this past year that like that would have been a career high for him So I like Malik Monk the player and I think he would have fed really good now with Caris Levert now and Malik Monk on the team and Ivy and Cade and now Chaz and Marcus Sasser and it seems like the Pistons want to replace Malik Bey’s movement shooting somehow They’ve been linked to Duncan Robinson I think that’s very real If you get him does that all fit together does that all make the most sense maybe not Maybe not the most sense The counter would be you just get good players Good players figure it out And I I get that and I won’t completely push back against that You have more good players you figure it out Sure But does it removing that does it all fit the the cleanest together probably not I mean like and people aren’t going to like to hear this but this is like probably I think if people bring objective this is probably like the cleanest way to look at it if you try to make it fit the most you stagger Ivy and Cade with like you probably play Cade with Monk and then and then Ivy with Levert because Monk can play off ball a little more But then also again you want Ivy with you want Ivy with Kade so you can get more minutes with them But do you really want Monk and and Levert playing together where LeVvert’s taking more positions out of Monk’s hands it’s like the fit isn’t the greatest right now It could work I don’t think it’s crazy bad It’s just a little bit wonky I guess that’s the best way to put it It would be a little bit wonky but I I think you absolutely do it I think first of all you don’t lose shooter for nothing I think that that’s number one Shooter gone Malik gone but at least you’re getting something in return for Shruder That would be reason number one But then reason number two I think Malik Beas or not Malik Beasley Malik Monk would instantly become your second best guard on the roster I I think he’s much better than Caris I think he’s better than Ivy right now So I think you 100% do it if you can As long as things don’t fall through I think the Pistons should pull the trigger on this But I’m that’s me hoping that it doesn’t fall through The fact that we have we’re at 11-11 right now when I’m recording this and we haven’t had it finalized yet tells me that one of two things One the Pistons I or maybe even the Kings are but I believe the Pistons are exploring all options possible are still talking Or two one of the sides are getting cold feet That’s my two take That’s my two takeaways for why it’s 11 right now and we still aren’t hearing any progress on it But we’ll see what happens Let me know comment section down below or over on Twitter How do you guys feel about Malik Monk would you guys like the Pistons acquiring Malik Monk let me know comment section down below or over on Twitter Coming up what’s next for the Detroit Pistons they still have holes in his roster What are they going to do how do they address him we’ll talk about it coming up So I want to thank you guys again Make locked on Pistons your first listen every single day We are free and available all my all your podcast platforms If you haven’t already head to the YouTube channel at Locked OnPistons Hit that subscribe button or leave us a fivestar review Whatever podcast platform you’re listening to this on That’s another great way to support the podcast Appreciate all of you guys being everyday listeners everydayers Appreciate all of you guys Um sorry I’m looking down my phone because we’re getting a bunch of notifications right I’m just trying to make sure this isn’t anything Pistons related Yelli is going to the Knicks Okay All right Nothing Piston related Okay Um I will say this You know what i’ll go ahead and say it Watch John Collins Just Just keep your eye just keep your eye potentially on John Collins for the Pistons That’s all I’m gonna say Um but what’s next for the Detroit Pistons well I I want to make this clear I feel bad for Trajan I don’t like the Caris Levert signing I’m not not sitting here saying I do Maybe it works out Maybe he plays just as efficient as he did this last year Okay I get that But I feel bad for Trajan because even despite that you can’t possibly just like and by I don’t believe the Pistons knew beforehand People will continue to scream that at me I’m telling you guys I’m telling you guys I do not think the Pistons thought the investigation was being dropped the day before free agency I’m like I don’t care what any comments say I don’t care what any fans seem to believe I am telling you guys I don’t believe they knew Having that having that dropped on you the day before free agency changes your whole like that that is something GMs just can’t plan for man Like I feel bad for him because now this is now backtoback offseasons where he’s probably feeling rushed and now he’s feeling like okay we got we got to recalibrate here We got to make this all happen within a short amount of time It was the same thing last year Now you get this happening It’s it’s this is I do not envy him at all I don’t envy Traan at all This is a really tough situation he gets put into because now you now you’re losing shooter and you’re losing Beasley for nothing For you’re losing Beasley for nothing you have to pivot immediately with how you want to use your MLE now You weren’t planning on that It’s like it’s tough I I I don’t envy him It’s not a great position to be in It’s it’s it’s tough It is it is very tough on them But acquiring Caris Levert the Pistons still have a ton of other holes They need a backup for badly In my opinion in my opinion I believed that instead of getting Caris Levert and using your MLE on him if you were if you know if you now you know that Malik is gone and maybe you don’t want to give the long-term money to Nquille which I don’t really get He’s a good player but okay maybe you don’t want to give Nikil the long-term money Fair enough I would have then pivoted with my MLE to go get a backup four or I would have went into the cap I would have I would have been a cap space team and tried to get a longterm or not a long term but a backup for because I think that the best way to offset Beasley’s departure or or missing piece whatever however you want to categorize what’s going on with Beasley I feel like the best way to handle that is to you’re not going to be able to replicate his shooting You’re just not He hit 300 threes this past year You can try to replicate a shot profile and try to get someone to maybe do some of it but Beasley himself you’re not going to be able to replicate it So I believe the best way to counter it be like “Okay but we had a weakness as a four so we’ll get another four Make the four room a very strong strong play Do we have 48 minutes consistently of good power forward minutes?” I caught myself this time Um power forward minutes and then went out and tried to get Duncan Robinson which it sounds like they’re still trying to do And I feel like that if you got Duncan Robinson and you had a strong four to play with Tobias behind him I think then your roster is a much more balanced out and I feel like that better offsets the missing you know the you know the randomness of the Malik news I feel like that would have been better balancing Now I like I said they’re trying to do more moves So it’s very possible very very much I’m telling you guys very very much possible that they end up with LeVert maybe Monk and then a power forward with what all these hoops they’re trying to jump through It’s very much on the board still But with that said business still they do need to go get backup for that is pri that is a high priority They have to get a movement shooter that can replicate Beasley’s shot profile and some of his gravity They have to do both of those things Those two things have to happen It’s day two of free agency What what what the books are waving dame The books are waving dame Dog Dog What i know I This is my live These are This is all happening live man This is like my live reactions Like what okay Um but yeah Uh the Pistons have to get a movement shooter They have to get a backup four That’s that’s those are two things they have to get And if they get Malik Monk and they have Caris Levert I I don’t I I it would be really tough to get both those guys and then still get a movement shooter and a power for I don’t think that’s possible You probably maybe get one of those So which one do you think is more valuable to get after that i would say you’re a backup four and then you just hope that Malik Monk kind of replaces some of Malik’s scoring off the bench just in a different way Maybe you don’t get the off the movement shooting Maybe they maybe they truly believe Chaz is him and maybe they believe we have the movement of shooting on the roster Again it’s it’s going to be hard to convince people in the offseason Maybe you can you easily can convince him during the regular season if he plays well but in the offseason you’re going it’s going to be hard to convince somebody that hey our second round pick is going to replace 300 threes from Malik Beasley It’s gonna be hard to convince that to people But maybe the front office is that high on them and they’re like we’ll prove you guys right in the regular season Maybe that’s the case and we’ll just have to wait to see on that But if they get Monk and obviously they have Carish but if they get Monk two I think the next you the next priority has to be the four That’s what I think I think you have to get a four and then you just hope you can create some shooting on the roster That’s what I believe But let me know comment section down below or over on Twitter How do you guys feel about this where are you guys standing right now with the Pistons free agency what should be their next moves let me know comment section down below or over on Twitter That’s all for you guys All I’ve got for you guys today My goodness I’ll catch you guys in the next one Stay safe out there Thank you guys Make lock on pistons your first list of every single day And until next time I will see you guys later Stay safe out there Until next time peace out

Detroit Pistons shake up roster with Caris LeVert signing and potential Malik Monk trade. Are these moves the key to unlocking the team’s potential?

Host Ku Khahil breaks down the Pistons’ free agency strategy, analyzing LeVert’s fit alongside young stars Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey. The discussion covers LeVert’s efficiency concerns, defensive upside, and the impact of his addition on Detroit’s roster construction. Khahil also reveals insider information on a possible sign-and-trade deal that could bring Malik Monk to Motor City, comparing the two guards’ playing styles and three-point shooting prowess.

Discover why Khahil prefers Monk over LeVert and learn about the Pistons’ next moves in free agency. Will Detroit address its need for a backup power forward and movement shooter?

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40 comments

  2. The key for Lavert is how he compares to Dennis and yes, he's an upgrade there as he has much more size and plays better defense and shoots better. Monk would be the Beasley or Hardaway replacement and that's probably a wash.

  5. As a og fan of Caris back in his uofm days I never thought he’d actually make it this far. Pretty cool to see. Vinson work your magic and we will be good! His shot creation is legit. Need that shot to fall like last year and it will turn out well

  12. I want everybody to go and look who LeVert's agent is.

    This team is not even trying to win because they are too busy funneling money to Arn guys; they are fucking Cade over and he's going to have to leave if he ever wants to contend for titles. It's that simple.

  13. how would you feel about signing lillard for a small deal and take a chance on his shooting once he’s back from injury? kemba and other guards not having that needed burst after coming back from achilles injuries makes me worried about dame but those small guards couldn’t shoot at the level dame has over his career. could we maybe slide him into a starting high volume shooter spot where he lets cade run the offense and create for him? (all assuming he’s willing to take a different role)

  14. You may be right.They probably didn't know it was gonna drop( malik beasley) right before free agency, but you can't convince me that they didn't know that it was going to happen……

  19. Nothing wrong with getting cheaper veterans who can score the ball. Nothing expensive and long term, the hope is these guys don’t have a big role and the young guys outplay them. But if they don’t then we have a guy who can get a bucket, something we didn’t have on our 2nd unit if shroeder didn’t have it going. The undersell you made is having a contract that can facilitate a big move down the line.

  21. I dont see how they got any better with the draft or free agent signings. Just guards, we need a big along with these guards

  22. Besides i dont think the mix of 4's and 5's we have is enough to get it done. I mean the knicks series showed that. Duran doesnt control the paint and cant guard bigs away from the basket. I maybe be wrong and i hope i am but i wouldnt pay him

  23. Hopefully, Levert will catch the pass to your teammate infection here in Detroit. Early last year Duren was a bit of black hole when he got the ball but as the season progressed he lost that negative.

  33. I remember nobody was thrilled with Tobias being the prize of last off season, but that turned out fine. Let's relax and see what else happens

  34. I think Levert was on JB. I’m pretty sure JB has a plan and a role for him. JB took us to the playoffs. I’m goin to trust him.

  35. If I'm trying to be optimistic, I could see LeVert taking over some backup PG responsibilities. Given his size, that maybe allows you to use Sasser in his more natural role as a SG (at least kind of attempting to sort of kind of replace the role that Beasley filled, at least functionally). Then, LeVert could switch to defending the larger guard. That's the best I can come up with…

  36. I don’t like the LeVert signing because of the long history of inefficient scoring. But he’s essentially the replacement for Schroder. They are similar players. So the fit is alright presuming we find our movement shooters.

  39. Yeah I’m not liking this offseason at all so far. We’ve regressed significantly on paper.

    Replacing 500 made 3s last season from Beasley, THJ and Schroeder with 106 from Caris Levert is really head scratching. Where will our shooting come from?

    If the Pistons seriously expect guys like Ausar and Ron, who couldn’t throw it in the ocean from deep, to magically become above average 3P shooters on a respectable volume, that’s simply bad business.

    Duren hasn’t even attempted a jumper in the league yet.

    Tobias has never been a volume shooter either and Cade 4 years into his career has yet to show a consistent stroke from deep.

    Ivey has had one HALF of a season where he shot well from 3 on a respectable volume. So as of now he’d be our only starter with semblance of a shooting resume and it’s hardly even a resume considering it’s a sample size of 40 games.

    Bringing back Paul Reed made no sense to me either. He’s an undersized backup 4/5 who can’t really stretch the floor and was unplayable during stretches against NY when premium minutes from a backup big were needed.

    As of now our spacing will more closely resemble that of the shit show that was the 2024 team rather than last year’s squad.

    Even if Ivey returns and immediately becomes that 22 PPG guy who shoots efficiently and takes some of the ball handling duties off Cade, we still have ZERO volume 3P shooters on this team.

    With no other improvements to the roster I firmly believe multiple teams who finished below us (Magic, Hawks, etc.) will lap us in the standings.

    Pistons are not operating with any urgency right now.

  40. Ku, go watch Bryce Simon's breakdown on substack. He shows some nice video breakdown of him on ball and off ball and doing some of the small winning effort plays. This video screams of you basing your opinion of him from his Brooklyn days, and not in the role he will play for the Pistons, which is similar to his role last year with Cavs and Hawks. This isn't an all star signing, but solid bench piece to help us stay competitive, keep development focus on young core, and a short term contract that will help either take back a bigger contract in the future or roll of with Ausar's new contract. Now we still need a real volume movement shooter though because Levert is not that.

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