Pistons: Why Cory Joseph won’t be back next season

The Detroit Pistons were at their most active in the trade market during this past offseason, but they didn’t stop making moves when the regular season began. Before the NBA trade deadline, they swapped one of their newest acquisitions, Delon Wright, to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Cory Joseph.

This deal wasn’t a straight-up trade, mind you. The Pistons also received a 2021 Los Angeles Lakers second-round pick and the Kings’ own 2024 second-round pick to bolster their later-round stock over the next few years.

The Detroit Pistons should look largely the same next season, but one name you can count on not returning is Cory Joseph. Here’s why.

As it happened, Joseph played pretty well in Detroit, and he played a lot. He started 11 of the 19 games he played, averaged 26.4 minutes per game and put up 12.0 points and 5.5 assists per outing. He posted shooting splits of 51-37-88, and these numbers would have amounted to the best season of his career across the board if these 19 games translated into a full campaign.

In spite of this standout performance in Detroit, don’t expect him to return as a Piston next season. Essentially, he was acquired for the express purpose of waiving him in 2021.

The Pistons got their two second-round picks, but they also acquired implied salary relief for next season. While Wright will enter the final year of his contract with the Kings, due a salary of $8.5 million, Joseph’s deal is a bit more complex. He’ll enter the final year of a three-year, $37 million contract with this 2021-22 salary partially guaranteed.

While his salary is $12.6 million next season, only $2.4 million of that is guaranteed. In other words, instead of the Pistons paying Wright $8.5 million next season to play in what is expected to be a full backcourt, they’ll just pay Cory Joseph $2.4 million to not play and save themselves $6.1 million.

More from Detroit Pistons

• NBA Trades: Spurs can add a recent lottery pick in this deal with Pistons
• Detroit Pistons draft odds: What are the chances of landing the #1 pick?
• Were the Golden State Warriors right to give up on James Wiseman?
• Ranking the top 18 shooters available on NBA trade market
• Jalen Duren has all the tools to be a star for the Detroit Pistons

And they get those two draft picks on top of everything else.

There may not be many changes in the role player corps for this roster, but it’s a safe bet that Joseph will be headed elsewhere. Assuming the Pistons draft Cade Cunningham, their active backcourt group could consist of Cunningham, Killian Hayes, Saben Lee and Frank Jackson.

It’s a young and dynamic group, and while Joseph was more than adequate during his time in Detroit, there doesn’t look to be room for him even if they were thinking about not canceling $10.2 million worth of his salary next season.

Joseph’s time with the Pistons may make him more appealing to other teams in need of veteran depth at the point or shooting guard positions. Dwane Casey was Joseph’s coach with the Toronto Raptors, and featuring him to the degree that he did certainly showed what he can do for teams looking for a backup combo guard.

His time in Detroit was largely a success for all parties, and luckily enough didn’t lead to wins and diminished NBA draft lottery stock.  With any luck, he’ll catch on with a contender next season in free agency where he can continue to help make a difference.