Detroit Pistons: Joe Dumars Correct to Keep Charlie Villanueva

Charlie Villanueva is more valuable as a nearly $8.6 million expiring contract this season than at any point in his Detroit Pistons’ career. (Flickr.com/Keith Allison)

It was in the summer of 2009 that Joe Dumars made the ill-fated decision to sign former Milwaukee Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva to a five-year, $37.7 million contract that included a player option for the final season in 2013-14.

Villanueva massively underperformed that deal, reaching the point by 2012-13 where he was barely a rotation player. After averaging 11.5 points and 4.3 rebounds in 22.8 minutes per game—mostly off the bench—in the first two seasons of the contract, Villanueva has moved further down the bench since. Over the last two seasons, Villanueva—who was limited to just 13 games in 2011-12 because of a suspension and an ankle injury—has averaged just 6.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game … but at least he’s only shot 37.8 percent, so he has that going for him.

Most thought at the time that it was a ridiculous deal for Villanueva, who had never been a full-time starter nor averaged more than 30 minutes per game through the first four years of his career with the Toronto Raptors and the Bucks.

But now that it’s almost over, general manager Joe Dumars told the Detroit News this week that he was comfortable with the decision to not use the Pistons’ amnesty provision to cut loose Villanueva and the final $8.58 million he is owed from the salary cap.

“Usually, you use amnesty to try to create space because you don’t have it,” Dumars said. “We had $20 million-$25 million in space; we didn’t need it.”

Keeping Villanueva makes him a potentially valuable trade piece—meaning he’s more valuable now than at any point in his Pistons career. An expiring contract worth more than $8.5 million could be very attractive to a team looking for cap relief next summer, when a bevy of potential free agents including LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh could hit the market due to early termination options in their contracts.

So tactically that makes sense, even if Dumars’ follow-up comment still smells a bit like a guy trying to justify one of the worst personnel decisions in recent NBA history.

“We knew we could get everything done with the cap space we had,” Dumars said. “There wasn’t a need. Plus, you’re talking about expiring contracts. And this team needs a stretch 4.”

Villanueva is serviceable—at best—as a stretch 4, having connected on 34.5 percent of his 3-point attempts over the last two seasons, right in line with his career mark of 34.6 percent.

The additions of free-agent Josh Smith and Italian rookie Luigi Datome, as well as the continued emergence of Andre Drummond, likely mean that Villanueva’s minutes will be even more limited in 2013-14.

But if a team looking to roll the dice on free agency next summer wants to clear some cap room, the Pistons are positioned to be able to add great value to their roster in exchange for a guy who doesn’t fir into the team’s present plans, much less its future.