Detroit Pistons: 5 Best Free Agents to Target for 2013-14

The Detroit Pistons head into the offseason with just a little more than $35.1 million committed for player salaries in 2013-14.

ESPN.com’s Marc Stein tweeted earlier this month that the NBA’s projected salary cap for next season will be $58.5 million.

That gives president of basketball operations Joe Dumars roughly $23.4 million to work with this summer. Of course, the last time Dumars had a lot of cap room, it didn’t turn out so well (as I discussed in March).

The last of Richard Hamilton’s deal finally comes off the Pistons’ books now and Jose Calderon, Corey Maggette, Jason Maxiell and Will Bynum are all headed to unrestricted free agency.

With new coach Maurice Cheeks not certain if he’s committed to Brandon Knight as the team’s point guard of the future (per this report), that means the team’s real needs heading into the offseason are at point guard—where the combo-guard approach with Rodney Stuckey and Knight has not been a raging success—and at small forward, where Kyle Singler may be a nice piece off the bench, but you probably don’t want to have to start the guy and lean on him for big minutes.

It’s very possible that either Michigan’s Trey Burke or Michael Carter-Williams of Syracuse—the top two point-guard prospects in next week’s NBA Draft—will still be on the board when the Pistons draft at No. 8 overall.

That means small forward is the top priority heading into free agency. Realistically, Chris Paul is out there as an option at point guard, but CP3 isn’t coming to Detroit. Since Calderon’s name wasn’t mentioned by Cheeks or Dumars when the new coach was introduced, it’s fair to conclude that the Spaniard will be allowed to walk.

With all that said, here are the top five free-agent targets for the Pistons this summer:

5. SF Dorell Wright

Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com

Dorell Wright would be Plan C at small forward for the Pistons as he comes off the worst shooting season of his career in 2012-13 for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Wright averaged 9.2 points per game for the 76ers, mostly as a reserve, in 22.6 minutes a game. He shot just 39.6 percent on the season and was a 37.4 percent shooter from deep.

But Wright is still relatively young (he’ll be 28 in December) and is two seasons removed from being the most prolific 3-point shooter in the NBA. He led the league in 3-point makes and attempts for the Golden State Warriors in 2010-11.

The Pistons were mediocre at best from long-range in 2012-13, shooting 35.6 percent as a team—18th-best in the league and slightly below the league average of 35.9 percent. But their 513 makes ranked 22nd in the NBA and their 1,440 attempts were 24th. They need shooters to stretch the floor and give their young interior tandem of Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond room to operate. Wright could fill that need.

Wright lit up the Indiana Pacers for 23 points to close the season, a nice way to go out:

4. SF Corey Brewer

(NBA.com photo)

Corey Brewer would be known as Plan B at the 3 spot. While he’s not nearly the 3-point threat that Wright would be, Brewer is coming off a career-reviving 2012-13 campaign with the Denver Nuggets.

Brewer averaged 12.1 points per game for the Nuggets, his best mark since scoring 13 a night for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2009-10. He just turned 27 and is a solid perimeter defender, contributing 2.2 defensive win shares for Denver in just 24.4 minutes a game.

Brewer can shoot from 3-point land–as evidenced by the six 3-pointers he knocked down against the Los Angeles Lakers in December:

3. PF Jason Maxiell

Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com

Jason Maxiell is the one Pistons free agent that should be retained. Maxiell can provide energy off the bench at the 4, averaging 10 points and eight rebounds per 36 minutes.

But he should not be brought back at $5 million a year and he should not come back as the starting power forward—a role he occupied last season.

Instead, Maxiell should embrace the reserve role he occupied so well early in his career, when he scored 13 points per 36 minutes and shot better than 57 percent from the floor for the Pistons in 2007-08 and 2008-09, respectively.

If he can do what he did against the San Antonio Spurs in February in short bursts off the pine, Detroit will be much better for it:

2. PG Jarrett Jack

(NBA.com photo)

Jarrett Jack is going to want starter’s money and starter’s minutes after putting together a tremendous season as a reserve for the Golden State Warriors. Jack averaged 12.9 points and 5.6 assists in just 29.7 minutes a game and was a key component to Golden State’s surprising run to the Western Conference semifinals.

Jack has been a starter before, both in Portland early in his career and New Orleans later on, and could provide both solid insurance at the point and a good mentor to allow a Burke or Carter-Williams to learn the NBA as a member of the second unit, rather than having to come in and learn the NBA on the fly.

Jack finished third in the voting for Sixth Man of the Year behind J.R. Smith of the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers reserve Jamal Crawford. As shown by these highlights, Jack had a great year in the East Bay.

1. SF Andre Iguodala

Photo Credit: NBA.com

Back to the small forwards, Andre Iguodala is Plan A. Iguodala is a former All-Defensive team selection who is more comfortable at the 3 rather than at the 2, where he played last season for Denver.

No, he’ll never be a terrific shooter. Iguodala shot just 31.7 percent from 3-point range last season while averaging 13.4 points a game. But he is a terrific rebounder and facilitator, averaging 5.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game for the Nuggets.

And did I mention defense? Iguodala is a lock-down defender on the perimeter with the quickness to defend point guards and the strength to take on larger 3s and small 4s.

Iguodala is also familiar with Cheeks—Iggy’s rise to break-out seasons coincided with Cheeks’ tenure on the bench with the Philadelphia 76ers.

With the Nuggets facing elimination at the hands of the Warriors in Game 5 of the Western Conference first round, Iguodala rose up with a big performance to keep Denver alive: