Detroit Pistons: Re-grading Jerami Grant’s signing and their free agency
By Duncan Smith
Detroit Pistons free agency re-grade: Mason Plumlee
Initial grade: F
Yes, this grade is harsh. However, in real-time, the Pistons had a swiftly growing corps of centers and were leading the league in players on roster at that position. They had traded for Dewayne Dedmon, they had drafted Isaiah Stewart, we weren’t sure what the plan for Thon Maker was, and Mason Plumlee was their first signing.
With Christian Wood’s free agency fate yet undecided and signing Jerami Grant not even a rumor yet, this signing seemed like the most bizarre pivot fathomable. The Pistons signed him to a three-year, $25 million deal, with no options and a trade kicker.
It didn’t seem conducive to whatever the Pistons were trying to do at the time, but “culture” became a keyword with regards to Plumlee. And it makes sense after seeing him on the floor. He’s not the most skilled player by any means, but he plays hard, he can roll to the rim and he’s good in the locker room.
Maybe it’s an overpay, but these are compromises you have to make when you’re trying to build a team and a culture, and this deal has aged pretty well since the ink was still wet on the virtual paper. The 73 centers that were on the Piston roster have mostly dissipated around the league by now, Jerami Grant has been nothing short of spectacular, and as has become commonplace, it seems like Weaver knew what he was doing here after all.