The Detroit Pistons should pass on Fred VanVleet
With every incident of suggesting the Pistons avoid Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet, it feels like a criticism of the player. It’s absolutely not, but it is a long view of what he can bring to the organization and what he can’t.
VanVleet is an excellent player, and he’s somebody who can help a good team become very good, a very good team become great and a great team become a champion. He’s not a player who can help a bad team become a good or very good team, and if the Pistons are going to drop a number in free agency on a player like what he should expect to receive, that’s the kind of impact they’re going to need for it.
The Raptors can pay basically anything to keep him, although they do have Giannis Antetokounmpo and the summer of 2021 in mind as they conduct business with VanVleet. The New York Knicks can basically create as much cap space if they want and VanVleet is sure to be on their radar. These two teams alone have the potential to create a bidding war that the Pistons will likely want to stay far away from.
Fred VanVleet is very good, but the fit with what the Pistons need just isn’t there. They need to avoid shortcuts in the rebuild, and unfortunately, that’s all he would provide them.