Detroit Pistons: 5 worst free agency moves in franchise history

2. Josh Smith

Contract: 4 years, $54 million

Do you understand how badly a team has to want to cut ties with a player to continue paying them $5.4 million a season to go away? That alone could make Detroit’s 2013 free agency signing of Josh Smith a contender for the worst free agency signing in franchise history.

The Pistons signed him to a max contract during free agency in 2013. The four-year contract was worth a total of $54 million.

Per the Associated Press and NY Post, coach and team president Stan Van Gundy said the club wanted to develop younger players. He said he felt it best to give the 29-year-old Smith his freedom to go elsewhere. The Pistons were 5-23 in December of 2014 when the Pistons waived him.

The statement sounds good. It makes fans feel warm and fuzzy until they realize hey they’re not being nice, they’re paying him to go away. The Pistons went on a seven-game win streak after the Pistons released him.

Knowing one’s limitations is a vital part of evolution. Smith fancied himself as a premier three-point shooter. There wasn’t a spot on the court he didn’t feel comfortable launching a three from. That’s not a problem right? Wrong, it’s a huge problem when you fire off 302 threes in 105 games as a Piston. He made only 26.2 percent of those attempts.

Smith will continue to collect $5.4 million from the Pistons every year until the 2019-20 season.