Pistons’ J.B. Bickerstaff: Knicks ‘just made one more play than we did’
J.B. Bickerstaff reacts to Detroit Pistons season-ending loss to New York Knicks in Game 6 of NBA playoffs May 1, 2025 at Little Caesars Arena.
Pistons president Trajan Langdon is noncommittal on re-signing veteran free agents Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr., Dennis Schröder, and Paul Reed.Malik Beasley, who set the Pistons’ single-season 3-point record, has expressed interest in returning.The Pistons may also consider rookie extensions for Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren.
It’s possible the Detroit Pistons have already made decisions on whether to re-sign veteran free agents like Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr., but president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon isn’t showing his cards yet.
The Pistons held an end-of-season press conference on May 7, where Langdon was non-committal on many of the team’s offseason plans, including how they will approach their veteran free agents.
“Yeah, maybe,” he said when asked if the Pistons would bring back some of their veteran free agents. “Maybe some of them get bigger offers elsewhere.
“I think they’d all be great for us coming back here in terms of what they did for us and how they fit with the roster that we have. So I can’t get into which ones, because again, it takes both sides to come together on the deal, and I don’t know what that is right now.”
Pistons veteran free agents
The Pistons currently have four regulars on the roster that will become free agents following the conclusion of the NBA postseason: shooting guards Beasley and Hardaway, point guard Dennis Schröder and center Paul Reed.
In addition, Lindy Waters III and Daniss Jenkins, who is on a two-way contract, will also be free agents, though more attention will be paid to the four veterans looking for a new deal.
Beasley, who signed with the Pistons on a one-year, $6 million deal before the 2024-25 season, has already expressed an interest in returning to Detroit in a Players’ Tribune article published before the playoffs began. He was the only Piston to play in all 82 games and finished second on the team (excluding Jaden Ivey, who played in only 30 games) with 16.3 points per game.
Beasley also smashed the Pistons’ single-season 3-point record with 319 made threes, finishing second in the NBA to Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards (320).
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the maximum annual salary Detroit can sign Beasley to is $7.2 million since Beasley has non-Bird rights, but Detroit could also use its midlevel exception to sign him for more money.
Another veteran guard the Pistons have to weigh is Hardaway, who made $16.19 million this past season as part of the four-year, $75 million deal he signed with the Dallas Mavericks in 2021. Hardaway started 77 games for the Pistons in the regular season, second on the team only to center Jalen Duren (78).
The Pistons can begin negotiating with their outgoing free agents on June 30, with all NBA teams available to sign free agents on July 6.
Extensions for Pistons’ Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren?
It’s not as high a priority for the Pistons, but in addition to the veterans, two young players will be up for rookie extensions: Duren and Jaden Ivey.
The Pistons drafted Duren with a first-round pick (13th overall) in the 2022 draft. He was a key player for the Pistons this past season, starting in 78 of the team’s 82 regular-season games and leading the team in rebounds.
Ivey, who the Pistons selected fifth overall in the 2022 draft, suffered a broken left fibula on Jan. 1 and missed the rest of the season. He tried to ramp up in time for the playoffs, but didn’t get a chance to compete as the Pistons suffered a first-round exit.
The Pistons have already rewarded two key players in their young core with rookie extensions: center Isaiah Stewart, who signed a four-year, $60 million extension in 2023, and star point guard Cade Cunningham, who signed a five-year, $224 million max extension on July 9.
That might be a hint that the Pistons intend to do the same with Ivey and Duren, though both players will still be under contract for next season and will be restricted free agents after that even if they don’t sign an extension. And just like with the veteran free agents, Langdon wouldn’t indicate the team’s position with its youngsters:
“I’m sure some kind of talks will be had at some point in the summer, but we have a long time to make that decision.”
How the Pistons look heading into next season
Continuing the theme of the end-of-season press conference, Langdon didn’t reveal whether the Pistons intended on altering their roster this summer through trades or free agency, instead saying the team will focus on preparing the younger players for another season:
“A big thing for this summer is going to be developing the guys that we have,” he said. “We have to make the right decision for sustainable success. That’s the one thing that we want to have here, and I think we have a group of guys that can do that. At what level right now, we don’t know.”
Though the Pistons are arguably ahead of schedule with their development, there still is room for a roster addition to make them a stronger team in the upcoming season. When asked if he knew who the team’s second-leading scorer would be in 2025-26, perhaps even a new addition, Langdon kept it short:
“Nope. I think that’s a good thing.”