Grading the Detroit Pistons' 2025 Offseason
The Pistons managed to reshape their second unit after a wrench was thrown in the team's offseason plans, but questions still remain.
This summer wasn’t supposed to be complicated for the Detroit Pistons.
After posting the most efficient campaign of his career and demolishing the Pistons’ single-season record for three-pointers made, it made all the sense in the world to bring back shooting guard Malik Beasley. The veteran sharpshooter was arguably Detroit’s second-most important player as a vital floor spacer for a team that didn’t possess many other reliable outside threats. Trajan Langdon and co. were all set to reportedly hand Beasley a three-year, $42 million extension after a successful first season in Motown, but as we know, a federal investigation derailed those talks before they could truly begin.
With Beasley potentially facing charges stemming from suspicious betting activity during the 2023–24 season, the Pistons had no choice but to shift gears. Coupled with Tim Hardaway Jr.'s departure to Denver, Detroit suddenly found itself down nearly 500 made threes from the year before. It was clear that the team needed to replenish its perimeter shooting and, while they managed to restore some much-needed floor spacing, they did so in a way that few expected.
Pistons sign G Caris LeVert to Two-Year, $29 Million Deal
Detroit didn’t wait long to bring in reinforcements after Beasley’s news broke, but the team didn’t exactly make a 1-to-1 replacement to start free agency. The Pistons’ first new addition of free agency, Caris LeVert, has been a multi-faceted offensive weapon throughout his nine-year career. The University of Michigan product has proven to be an effective slasher and capable playmaker, but his inconsistent jumper makes him a more reasonable replacement for the recently departed Dennis Schroder than Beasley.
LeVert averaged 12.1 points and 3.4 assists on impressively efficient 46/37/71 shooting splits between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks last season. If those shooting numbers hold and he shows promise as a full-time combo guard, LeVert could end up being an excellent signing for Detroit. Even if his efficiency numbers end up around his career averages, though, the 30-year-old should be a difference-maker for a Pistons team that just lost plenty of offense from its backcourt.
In a vacuum, LeVert is a player who can provide several different things for a team’s offense, starting or off the bench. LeVert hasn’t experienced much notable team success in the NBA - to the concern of some - but his ball-handling and scoring abilities will be crucial. With Detroit, he’ll comfortably slide in as the sixth or seventh man for a team that will need all the scoring it can find when Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, and/or Tobias Harris are off the court.
Maybe I have my maize-and-blue-colored goggles on, but I believe LeVert is a slight upgrade over Schroder, especially if his hot shooting from last season sticks. A player who hasn’t averaged under 12 PPG since his rookie campaign, LeVert, will find a way to be a difference-maker. Throw in the fact that his deal is just two years, and Caris LeVert could be the perfect player to help this Detroit team transition into a more fruitful era.
Grade: B
Pistons Draft G Chaz Lanier 37th overall in 2025 NBA Draft
After breaking out as a junior at the University of North Florida, Chaz Lanier transferred to Tennessee, where he put on a show as one of the nation’s most reliable three-point marksmen. The transition to the big stage didn’t hurt Lanier, who only saw his scoring average drop from 19.7 to 18.0. The biggest thing Lanier will bring to the Pistons is deep-range accuracy, as he scorched the nets to the tune of 39.5% shooting on 8.2 attempts per game during his final collegiate season.
With no first-round pick to the team’s name this year, the Detroit Pistons had one main focus: nailing their second-round selection. Early in the draft, it’s common to see teams why away from prospects who spent as much time in college as Lanier did. Rarely will a team be impressed enough by a 23-year-old to select him in the lottery. But Lanier doesn’t need to play like a lottery pick for Detroit.
Even with the Pistons’ other offseason pickups, Lanier’s shooting is still a welcome addition. Older talents may not be coveted early in the draft, but in the second round, they often prove to be the most NBA-ready prospects available. Lanier will have the chance to contribute as a rookie and beyond. A franchise that has notoriously struggled to find talent late in the draft over the last two decades, the Pistons will have to hope their selection of Lanier is the beginning of a new trend. I have optimism that it could be.
Grade: B+
Pistons Acquire G Duncan Robinson in Sign-and-Trade, Ink to Three-Year, $48 million Deal
To the distress of some, the Pistons took some time before finding their actual Beasley replacement. After sign-and-trade talks that would have sent Malik Monk to Detroit for Dennis Schroeder fell through, shooting immediately became the team’s most pressing need. In one of Trajan Langdon’s savvier moves since taking over as Detroit’s president of basketball operations, he instead pivoted to another sign-and-trade with the Miami Heat.
Unlike Detroit’s departed veterans, Duncan Robinson can contribute more than just his jump shot. Don’t get me wrong - the deep ball will be his calling card this season - but Robinson has proven to be a capable playmaker and slasher as well, especially over the last couple seasons. His assist numbers are far from eye-popping, but after watching Beasley and THJ launch from beyond the arc at will last season, it will be nice having a three-point marksman who brings more to the table.
The Pistons aren’t losing much in Simone Fontecchio, who they gave up to Miami for Robinson. Fontecchio struggled mightily in his first full season with Detroit after impressing during the second half of the 2023-24 campaign. Trading him doesn’t fix the Pistons’ obvious holes at the backup forward positions, but Robinson is more than capable of replacing the production of Beasley and Hardaway Jr.
Grade: A-
Pistons re-sign Paul Reed to two-year, $11 million deal
Paul Reed filled in admirably through Isaiah Stewart’s postseason absence. The veteran big man exhibited the kind of toughness that Detroit fans can appreciate. Unfortunately, though, bringing him back doesn’t exactly move the needle for the Pistons. Reed remains a replacement-level big, one who won’t be able to crack the rotation as long as both Stewart and Jalen Duren are healthy. His skillset and lack of size don’t complement either of Detroit’s young bigs. As a result, the Pistons basically brought Reed back to be an injury replacement for $11 million.
In what was an admittedly weak free agent class that quickly dried up, this isn’t the worst move for the Pistons. Reed will be in the same role as he was last season and can step in if either Stewart or Duren are unable to suit up. But I still believe it would have been smarter for Detroit to chase after a veteran big who can actually play alongside those two, such as Trey Lyles or Chris Boucher. Neither are flashy options, but their presence as a shooting threat (especially Lyles) would have made either a sensible addition for a team that has few answers at power forward behind Tobias Harris.
Maybe the plan is to run Ron Holland as his backup. Either way, though, the Pistons’ bench unit is going to be undersized. As fun as it was to watch Paul Reed scrap with the New York Knicks in the postseason, there’s still no room for him in Detroit’s rotation.