There have been a handful of former Detroit Pistons hitting the free NBA agency this week, including the core of the franchise’s final playoff team two years ago.
Two of these former players, Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin, were signed to max contracts on their most recent long-term contracts. This week, signed for the veteran’s minimum, a blatant downfall.
Most have signed, but Reggie Jackson remains on the market after his stellar run in the postseason with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Let’s take a look at where the former pistons ended up with additional stats and analysis:
* Offers can become official on Friday at 12:01 p.m.
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Andre Drummond to Philadelphia ?!
Drummond has seen his value fall off a cliff as the league evolves, and that continued with his signing for the Veterans Minimum ($ 2.4 million) with the Philadelphia 76ers for a year. It’s a shocking and hilarious pairing as he will now support his archenemy Joel Embiid, who ran up the league last season.
Remember this tweet from less than three years ago:
Although the rivalry was a battle of words and great fun for the fans, it seemed good-natured as the two of them immersed themselves on the pitch and laughed. Now they’ll be cheering each other on as the 76ers try to recover from their recent failure in the playoffs.
Drummond, who turns 28 next week, has been a nomad since he was dumped by the Pistons in Cleveland at close of trading in 2020 in exchange for expiring contracts and a 2023 second-round pick.
He was bought out by Cleveland last season after failing to find a trading partner and then signed with the Lakers for the remainder of the year, where he started, averaging 11.9 points and 10.2 rebounds in 24.8 minutes over 21 games (53.1% shooting, 60.5% on free throws).
But he couldn’t help the Lakers advance to the playoffs, despite averaging nine points on 59.4% shooting and 11 rebounds in five games against Phoenix that played 21 minutes a night. He was the only active Laker who didn’t play in Game 6, a loss at the end of the season.
Drummond, whose last contract with the Pistons earned him $ 127 million over five years in 2016, is a younger and more prolific version of Dwight Howard – and just as bubbly. Howard has had a solid season as Embiid’s backup but is signing with the Lakers.
With Embiid’s long history of injuries and the Sixers’ cautious approach, Drummond will have spots on a team with championship ambitions and the chance to add value as he enters next summer’s market – as long as he doesn’t partner with Ben Simmons.
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Derrick Rose’s long-term deal with New York
Derrick Rose’s nearly one and a half seasons with the Pistons helped rebuild his reputation. Now it’s paying off.
Rose, who will turn 33 in October, is promoted to the New York Knicks for three years and $ 43 million after a successful six months after his Detroit trade.
Rose’s takeover – in exchange for Dennis Smith Jr. and Charlotte’s second-round election, which placed Isaiah Livers 42nd overall – helped the Knicks, 4th from Atlanta.
In 35 games, Rose averaged 14.9 points (48.7% shooting, 41.1% from 3 to 2.6 tries per game) and 4.2 assists as a spark plug off the bench in 26.8 minutes per game.
He was even better in the playoffs, moving into the starting line-up in the last three games and averaging 19.4 points (47.6% shooting, 47.1% from 3 to 3.4 attempts per game) and five assists over 35 Minutes per game.
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Blake Griffin back to Brooklyn
The unfortunate January 2018 Griffin deal with the Los Angeles Clippers set the Pistons years back, but ultimately led to the promising rebuilding they are in now.
Even so, it hurt when the Pistons were left with no option but to buy Griffins last few years. Griffin, 32, returned $ 13 million of the $ 75 million he owed from the Pistons but carries a $ 30 million dead cap hit on Detroit’s books this year that expires next summer .
He promptly signed with Brooklyn and looked refreshed, albeit a long way from the All-Star Campaign with the Pistons just two years earlier.
He started diving again – he hadn’t done that in two years – took on the role of the launch center and was the main defender against Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee, which helped the injury-ridden Nets, in an epic seven-game east semifinal series over water to stay. He played 40 minutes in Game 7, with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Griffin is back with the Nets with a one-year contract worth the veteran’s minimum.
He started all 12 postseason games for the Nets, averaging nine points (53.2% shooting, 38.9% from 3 to 3.6 tries per game, 14-for-36), 5.9 rebounds and 1 , 8 assists over 26.5 minutes per game.
In 26 games in the regular season (10 starts) he averaged 10 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists and shot 38.3% from 3 to 3.1 attempts per game over 21.5 minutes.
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Bruce Brown Jr. is also returning to Brooklyn
After a fine season of being on the offensive as a big man, Brown Brown Jr. is returning to the Nets on a one-year deal for his qualifying offer of $ 4.7 million.
Brown, who will turn 25 in August, worked his way into the starting XI to complement the stars of the Nets and ended the regular season with an average of 8.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.9 steals in 22.3 minutes per game over 65 games (37 starts). He shot 55.6% overall, but a staggering 28.8% out of 3 (17-for-59).
In 12 playoff games (five starts), he played 23.1 minutes and collected 7.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists, shooting a total of 50.6% and hitting 2 of 11 3-pointers.
In Troy Weaver’s first trade as general manager of Pistons last fall, he gave Brown to the Nets for Dzanan Musa, a 2021 second-round pick (which finished No. 37 overall and left Mason Plumlee) and cash considerations, though the deal was later expanded to include Luke Kennard and the first-round pick that became Saddiq Bey.
Reggie Bullock helps Luka Doncic in Dallas
Reggie Bullock was a nice find from the junkyard of the Stan Van Gundy-run front office in the middle of the last decade, and it has continued to impress. As a result, he is richer and agrees on a three-year contract for $ 30.5 million with the Dallas Mavericks. His agent told USA TODAY Sports that Bullock found the fit appealing for a number of reasons, “including Luka Doncic’s star power, the hiring of Jason Kidd as head coach, Mark Cuban’s ownership, his potential role and no state income tax.”
Bullock (30) averaged 10.9 points as a full-time starter for the Knicks last season and shot 41% from 3 to 6.1 attempts per game.
The Pistons exchanged him for Svi Mykhailiuk on the 2019 deadline and a second-round pick in 2021 for the Lakers, with which they chose Luka Garza in 52nd place.
Wayne Ellington to Hollywood
Wayne Ellington will be a Laker again and agree to a one-year contract. He’ll be shooting a team desperate outside after the addition of noted bricklayer Russell Westbrook.
Ellington, who played for the Lakers in 2014-15, shot 42.2% with the Pistons from 3 to six attempts per game last season and averaged 9.6 points in 22 minutes in 46 appearances (31 starts).
The 33-year-old is a 38.2% shooter from the 3-point range over 14 seasons.
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