Detroit Pistons: 5 affordable free agent options

5. Michael Beasley, SF/PF

2017-18 salary: $2.1 million

As talented as he is, and as productive as he can occasionally be, Beasley is realistically never going to command that big-money contract that seemed like a lock when he came into the league as the No. 2 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Beasley averaged 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this past season as a part-time starter for the New York Knicks, his fourth team in the last four years. Outside of Dwight Howard, there may not be a more talented journeyman in the league.

Perhaps he was auditioning for another summer of free agency, but Beasley just so happened to have some of his best games this past season against some of the best teams in the league. He scored 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against the Boston Celtics; scored 30 apiece against the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder; put up 24 points and 13 boards against the Philadelphia 76ers; and dropped 23 and 12 against the San Antonio Spurs.

Coincidentally, Beasley’s last really good game of the season came against the Pistons, when he scored 32 against Detroit on March 31 in Madison Square Garden.

If there’s one thing Beasley has always been able to do, it’s score. He may not be totally focused on the court and may cause some headaches off it, but he can get buckets. The Pistons could use someone who gets buckets.