Detroit Pistons: 3 steps to escape NBA purgatory in 2019

2. Get out of bad contracts

Heading into next year, the Pistons have four players on the books that will be making over $9.5 million. Griffin and Drummond aren’t going anywhere, but they need to find suitors for Reggie Jackson and Jon Leuer somehow. Jackson has steadily regressed due to injuries that have taken away his athleticism. While point guards are always in demand, power forwards that don’t stretch the floor like Leuer are not.

Jackson works better in a sixth man role where he can dominate the ball in the second unit because he doesn’t have the ability to space the floor that would help him be successful alongside Griffin and Drummond. He’s shooting 34.7 percent from 3-point range this year, and that’s still not good enough as an off-the-ball point guard. For teams in need of a consistent point guard as a low-end starter or bench guy, he’s expensive but capable.

Leuer has never been an elite player on the offensive end of the floor, but he has been dreadful this season. He has little to no ability to space the floor, so teams would be adding him for his defensive work where he is somewhat effective. At 6’10” and 228 pounds, he is big enough to match up with the majority of wings and power forwards. For a team that needs some extra defensive help, he could be worth the cost of a trade, but the Pistons need him to be elsewhere.