Detroit Pistons: 3 reasons keeping Reggie Bullock is a good move

Reggie Bullock is returning to the Detroit Pistons after the team exercised their option on his contract for 2018-19.

This offseason has been one of pleasantly surprising ones for the Detroit Pistons, from hiring the reigning NBA Coach of the Year, to landing two of the biggest potential steals of the 2018 NBA Draft, to signing the league’s most hated villain in free agency. (That’s a good thing in Detroit, where they still pine for the days of Bill Laimbeer.)

But the Pistons didn’t surprise anyone on Monday when the team exercised its option on the contract of Reggie Bullock, bringing the 27-year-old wing back for next season at a bargain salary of $2.5 million.

Last season was a breakout campaign for Bullock. The former first round draft pick out of the University of North Carolina more than doubled his previous career-high scoring average, putting up 11.3 points per game for the Pistons. Bullock’s 2.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.8 steals per game were also career bests.

The obvious factor in Bullock’s improved numbers was simply that he got more playing time. Bullock started 52 games for Detroit, moving between shooting guard and small forward, and averaged a career-high 27 minutes per game.

Bringing back a double-digit scorer and solid rotation player at a relatively cheap price tag didn’t appear to be a difficult decision for the Pistons’ new leadership, headed by first-year senior advisor Ed Stefanski and recently hired coach Dwane Casey.

Bullock is a valuable and reliable offensive contributor for a team that often struggled to score. The Pistons finished 22nd out of 30 teams in the NBA in scoring last season, and 23rd in field goal percentage.

Here are three reasons why keeping Bullock was an easy choice for the Pistons.