The 5 worst free agent signings in Detroit Pistons history

Ben Gordon/Charlie Villanueva

These two are truly inseparable in terms of their Detroit Pistons run, considering they were announced together and their contracts are equally atrocious. These contracts will not look bad in current terms considering the salary cap for the current season is $109 million. However, for the 2009-2010 season the league was not in the same financial place and the salary cap was only $57.7 million.

Ben Gordon signed a five-year, $55 million deal and Charlie Villanueva signed a five year, $40 million deal. Adjusting this to today’s cap number these would be the equivalent of $20.78 million per year and $15.11 million per year respectively. For an example of where that would stack up in the current landscape Gordon would be earning in the same range as Victor Oladipo and Malcolm Brogdon and Villanueva would be more than Marcus Morris, Danny Green and Eric Gordon.

Gordon continued his role as a sixth man while in Detroit and averaged 12.4 points, 2.5 assists and 2.2 rebounds while only shooting 43.2 percent from the field during his three seasons. Villanueva played all five seasons he was signed for in Detroit, only started 25 games and missed 138 games.

Using all of your cap space on two players who were below-average bench players the summer before the most iconic free agency class in recent memory simply because they did not think they had a chance on any of them is one of the lowest moments in Detroit Pistons free agency history. Somehow, Jeff Bauer decided to do something worse.