The Detroit Pistons have navigated a rather eventful offseason to this point.
They’ve said goodbye to Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart, both of whom represent significant departures. Additionally, there’s a peculiar, unresolved scenario surrounding big man Jalen Duren, though the prevailing expectation is that he’ll ultimately be back with the team. Even so, it’s reasonable to question whether Detroit has done enough to maintain its position at the top of the Eastern Conference hierarchy.
Miami secured Giannis, Philadelphia landed Jaylen Brown, Toronto brought in Kawhi, and various other franchises have also upgraded their rosters. In contrast, the Pistons have brought in Isaiah Joe and John Collins while choosing to bring Kevin Huerter back on a new deal.
That said, the decision to re-sign Huerter has drawn considerable criticism from across the league.
Pistons face backlash for Huerter extension
Detroit acquired Huerter at the trade deadline with the intention of surrounding Cade Cunningham with additional floor spacing. That plan didn’t exactly pan out, though, as Huerter managed to shoot just 29% from three-point range over his 25 games in a Pistons uniform.
Nevertheless, the front office opted to hand him a three-year, $27 million extension. Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report recently highlighted the offseason’s most questionable overpays, and unsurprisingly, Huerter’s contract made the cut.
Buckley offered this critique:
A three-year deal with an average annual value just under $10 million sounds fairly reasonable for a player billed as a shooting specialist right? But how does that equation change when that specialist isn’t actually making shots?
Ouch. Detroit, a team that appeared chronically short on spacing throughout the past season, connected on 35.6 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc. The Brooklyn Nets, who finished dead last in the NBA in three-point percentage, shot an even 34 percent a number Huerter has failed to surpass in each of the last two seasons.
As Buckley pointed out, Huerter was once regarded as a reliable sharpshooter, but his production has tailed off over multiple campaigns now. The wing hasn’t posted a three-point clip above 35% since the 2023-24 season, so it’s becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss this as a mere cold streak.
And here’s the underlying issue: when Huerter isn’t knocking down shots, he doesn’t contribute much else of substance. He’s never been known as a disruptive defender or a particularly skilled ball-handler, which suggests the Pistons are essentially gambling on him rediscovering his shooting touch.
Leave a Reply