Detroit Pistons: Buy or sell each pending free agent

Which free agents should the Detroit Pistons buy?

Christian Wood

Christian Wood is the man of the hour in Detroit. He barely made the team out of training camp, needing a preseason injury to Joe Johnson to win a spot on the roster. By the end of the season, he was the final player introduced among the starters in their last home game, a fateful matchup against the Utah Jazz.

Wood is set for his first pay-day at the NBA level after playing for minimums and G-League money throughout his career, and there won’t be any kind of hometown discount for a team that kept him shackled behind Thon Maker for much of the season. The Pistons need to keep him, but they also need to make sure not to break the bank. If they can’t sign him to a number that they believe they can trade him with later, letting him walk might be the only way forward.

However, they should enter the offseason with a “buy” strategy for Christian Wood.

Langston Galloway

There’s an unfortunate legacy associated with Langston Galloway and the Detroit Pistons, albeit through no fault of his own. In his free agency in 2017, the Pistons hastily signed Galloway to a contract that hard-capped them, handcuffing their ability to conduct other essential business in that offseason. They did this by noon of July 1st, meaning they overpaid him as quickly as possible, and sources around the league indicate that the Pistons didn’t even realize they had activated the hard-cap until it was too late.

It’s not Galloway’s fault that the Pistons brass at the time didn’t know the rules of the CBA well enough to avoid triggering the hard-cap, but alas, he was the man of the hour nonetheless. He’ll be a free agent in the 2020-21 offseason, and in spite of that checkered past, the Pistons should pursue a reunion. He had a good season in 2019-20 and is an excellent locker room presence. They should not overpay to retain him, but keeping him if possible should be a priority.

Thon Maker

There isn’t likely to be much of a market for Thon Maker’s services, but he could be a reasonable “break glass in case of emergency” third center, depending on how Weaver constructs the frontcourt in the offseason. He should be cheaply retained, and as a restricted free agent the Pistons are in complete control of his fate.

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk showed that he was a dead-eye shooter this past season, and although he doesn’t provide a whole lot else at this point, that’s got value for this team. The Pistons have a team option worth $1.663 million, and they should exercise that to bring him back next season.