*Updated* Pistons’ roster and contract status

by | Jul 15, 2010 | 40 comments

Ok, I know I told you guys that in the coming days (weeks) that I’d give some prospective on the current players on the roster and their contract status.  I will list them in order of the regular rotation position from last season.

Rodney Stuckey (PG) – 1 yr remaining at $2.7m, with an option to bring him back on a qualifying offer for $3.8m*
Richard Hamilton (SG) – 3 yrs remaining at $37.95m, with the 3rd yr being only partially guaranteed
Tayshaun Prince (SF) – 1 yr remaining at $11.1m, no player or team option for 2011-2012.**
Jonas Jerebko (SF/PF) – 1 yr remaining (non-guaranteed) at $762k, no player or team option for 2011-2012.***
Ben Wallace (C) – 2 yrs remaining at $3.8m, no player or team option for 2013-2014

Ben Gordon (SG) – 4 yrs remaining at $48m.  Gordon has a player option that will pay him $13.2m in 2013-2014 should he exercise it
Charlie Villanueva (PF) – 4 yrs remaining at $31.2m.  Villanueva holds a player option that will pay him $8.58m in 2013-2014 should he exercise it
Jason Maxiell (PF) – 3 yrs remaining at $15m.  Maxiell holds a player option that will pay him $5m for 2012-2013 should he exercise it
Austin Daye (SF) – 3 yrs remaining at $6.6m (roughly).  Daye’s rookie contract expires after 2010-2011 w/ 2 team option 2011-2012, 2012-2013
DaJuan Summers (SF) – 1 yr remaining at $762k, no player or team option for 2011-2012.***
Greg Monroe (PF) – 2 yrs remaining at $5.08m, with 2 team option years (2012-2013, 2013-2014) and a qualifying offer year (2014-2015)
Chris Wilcox (PF/C) – 1 yr remaining at $3.0m, no player or team option for 2011-2012.**

FREE AGENTS:
Kwame Brown (C) – Detroit holds Kwame’s “bird rights” meaning they can pay more than any other team for him, but he is free to go anywhere.  He is an unrestricted free agent.
Will Bynum (PG) – Bynum is a restricted free agent, and Detroit can match any offer made to him.

UNSIGNED DRAFT PICKS:
Terrico White (SG) – likely to receive 1 yr guaranteed contract with a team option for a 2nd yr.

TRADE ASSETS:
Tayshaun Prince (expiring contract, still has value, could be contributor for contender)
Chris Wilcox (expiring contract)
Will Bynum (although all signs point to Detroit matching any offer made to him, with him staying)
Austin Daye (rookie contract, could be paired with a “bad” contract like Richard Hamilton to acquire a significant piece)
2011 1st Round Draft Pick (likely to be a late lottery pick or mid-1st rounder depending on where Pistons finish the season)

* if Detroit makes the qualifying offer to Stuckey, he will become a restricted free agent and Detroit can then match any offer made to him
** Detroit holds Tayshaun’s “bird rights” so if he remains on the roster all season, they will have the opportunity to pay him more than anyone else.  He will be an unrestricted free agent.
*** Detroit will hold Summers’ and Jerebko’s “early bird rights” after this 2nd season meaning they will be restricted free agents and Detroit will be able to pay more than anyone else.
**** All numbers are from hoopsworld.com

The Pistons are currently over the salary cap for the 2010-2011 season.  They have the ability to spend their full MLE (Mid-Level Exception) on any free agents available.  The MLE can be divided into different contracts but those contract values cannot exceed the overall value of the MLE.

All players who remain un-signed for the 2010-2011 season (Kwame Brown, Will Bynum) have a “cap hold” placed on the team’s salary cap for the next year until their rights are re-nounced.  Currently, the Pistons have a hold of $4.8m for Kwame Brown and $990,596 for Will Bynum.  While Kwame may not come back, Will Bynum is expected to see a raise from his current cap hold.

With Luke Ridnour receiving a contract from the Timberwolves of 4 yrs, $16m, I would not be surprised to see Bynum receive something in that same ballpark.  Perhaps a 4 yr, $12m contract is most suitable for him as it will give him a sense of stability and it falls in line with contracts that players of his ability are currently earning in the league.  Whatever he signs for, I believe front loading the contract to be best because as the years go on, they will have more and more salary cap space available for use.  Since they’re already over the cap now, there’s no use in backloading the deal only to hamstring yourself a year down the line.

As I said in the previous post in reply to a comment about Minnesota trading Al Jefferson for draft picks, the Pistons are not in a position to make deals like this.  Detroit would actually need to trade the same value in salaries (or within 125% total values) in order to receive players back.  Since draft picks do not have value until the picks are made, they can’t simply send picks to other teams for players.

I hope this helps a little.  There will be more to come, later.

40 Comments

  1. T1theinfamous

    That actually helped a lot and we really have to find a way to move Richard Hamilton and that gigantic contract.

    Reply
  2. Jesse

    If bad contracts like Turkoglu, Hinrich, Calderon ect. can be moved, why is Dumars having such a hard time finding a taker for Rip? He is just as productive (if not more so) then these other players….. Bahhh… this just gets more frustrating every day.

    Reply
    • Danny Bohnlein

      Turkoglu’s contract isn’t for as much money, and while it’s longer than Rip’s, Turkoglu does things that Rip can not do (ball handling, create his own shot, defend multiple positions, be 6’11)

      Calderon’s contract isn’t as bad as Rip’s and Hinrich’s, while bad in it’s own right, only lasts 2 seasons instead of 3.

      I’m afraid Rip’s contract situation will be similar to Erick Dampier’s in Dallas. Pay him a lot of money to do what he does, and then he’ll be dealt when his contract is only partially guaranteed. Either that, or DaJuan Summers has a Carlos Boozer-esque breakout year in his 2nd year and commands big dollars on the free agent market and his talents can be paired with a “bad contract” like Rip’s for another team who wants him.

      Reply
  3. edt

    how about the summer league prospects, like baby milsap and the guy with two first names, patrick christopherr or is it chistopher patrick

    Reply
    • Danny Bohnlein

      Those guys do not count against the salary cap until they are offered NBA contracts.

      Since Terrico White doesn’t even have a contract, I shouldn’t have listed him here. I put him down just because he was picked in the draft.

      Reply
  4. edt

    sue sure. But tericco white has looked absolutely awful in the summer league and greg monroe has been getting beat up download. I like monroe a lot but he looks to be about 2 inches shorter than mickell gladness who is also “6 foot 11”.

    White can’t shoot, he can’t drive and he doesn’t seem to be a willing passer.

    Contrast to the heat’s Weyinmi Efejuku, a dominating guard with a great floater in the lane, he was unstoppable against our summer guys.

    I actually like undrafted Elajah Millsap better than Terrico White.

    When Monroe played vs cousins he was completely dominated, not Monroe’s fault, he is just such a small 6 foot 11 guy, and cousins is a bear.

    Greg Monroe is listed at 250 6 foot 11 and gladness is listed as 6 foot 11 230 why is it that Gladnes seems to tower over monroe, cousins is listed at 270 I bet he closer to 300 than 250.

    Anyway, I don’t like how little size Monroe has now that I’ve seen him in the summer league, and I don’t like how Terrico seems not to be NBA ready.

    Monroe has plenty of skills, that part I like a lot, he’s got a great little left handed hook, and I love how he plays on the block. I just wish he would start eating more cheeseburgers.

    Reply
    • Danny Bohnlein

      Monroe isn’t a banger down low, he’s more of a power forward than a center. He could get away with being a center in college because of his height. You’ll see, I listed him as a PF even though Joe has stated he’ll see time at C.

      If I remember correctly, Detroit has 2 spots they can fill after they sign Bynum. These spots will likely be the MLE contract guy and White (or 1 of the other summer league guys or a veteran’s minimum player)

      Detroit is not in a position to make a big splash right now unless they’re able to free up some room via trade. With all the teams losing out on free agents this offseason there is a chance that guys can be traded to teams that now need to fill holes (like the Al Jefferson trade) which will give Detroit a “trade exception” to use for up to a year to fill that salary slot.

      Reply
  5. Zkranc

    all right let me give you my take on the trade rumors regarding Rip and Tay.

    Rip – if we wanna trade we either trade him for a solid big man (don’t really see any team trading one, a little help here..) or we get cap relief and draft picks (maybe Charlotte would be willing to take Rip for Dampiers contract), at the end of the Rip’s contract may be to difficult to move for nothing more than a bag of chips, in that case it would make more sense to keep him and try to trade him next year when his contract would be more attractive

    Tay – now Tay is a diffrent story, if we wait for his contract to expire we will be left with little cap space with which we can’t really sign good free agents, so it makes a lot more sense to trade him so we a least get something for him even if the value is not the same, the only other solution I can think of is re-signing Tay for a reasonable price therefor staying close to the cap and then trading Rip when his contract has only 2 years left

    sometimes you have to look a deals from the other side and there is where things get complicated, but hopefully Joe can make a deal that betters us for the future, because we are clearly a few pieces short of contenting for a championship again.

    Reply
  6. Calculeless

    Just read news about vegas is trying to buy a team and move it to the desert
    Hopefully its not piston

    Reply
  7. junior

    we arent going anywhere

    Reply
  8. Rashit Flawless (Russia)

    We passed on Washington last year, he looks good for me in the summer league

    Reply
  9. Rashit Flawless (Russia)

    Personally, I want to see our frontcourt READY. But I don’t really see how Monroe will contribute immediately as a center. He would be good at PF, but now he’s too skinny, too short for his 6’11 and lacks defensive and offensive brutality like Cousins has.
    And I don’t want to waste my expectations on Charlie V.
    I hope Joe will bring us someone good. Don’t know how, but if I knew, then I could have been GM of The Pistons
    sorry about my english again…

    Reply
  10. Tycoon

    Jerebko is a guaranteed starter and unless we trade or bench Tay, JJ will find his spot at PF.

    One reason why Moroe will be forced to play center because he wont have PT behind JJ and CV. Good to read some comments about Monroe but I do not like how others sound disappointed about his game. Lets give him some time.

    Reply
  11. Magoo

    I actually like Rip Hamiltons game better than Gordons.

    With the right PG and front court he’s great.
    maybe trade BG.

    Reply
  12. James (Australia)

    Pistons aren’t going to Vegas. Karen Davidson surely could not do that to the memory of Mr D.

    Nice post, Danny, and welcome aboard. You did leave out Chucky Atkins on the FA list, but he won’t be back – probably will retire – so it doesn’t matter.

    The roster is still unbalanced, but I don’t want Dumars to blow what assets we have just to say he was active. I still think it will be a while before a deal is made, if one is done. Dumars loves making the big moves close to the season starting or mid season.

    Reply
  13. Trevor

    It’s a reach, but it wouldn’t be totally shocking to see a team like the Knicks, Nets, or Bulls be willing to take a bad contract like Rip’s. These teams still have significant cap space and the stud FA’s are off the board. Waiting and hoping next summer works out better doesn’t sound great (especially considering the top prize will probably re-up with the Nuggets). These are all big-market teams who don’t necessarily need to trim cap for the sake of trimming cap, and Rip is far from a bum. He’s a sad consolation prize to Bron or Wade, but someone has to fill that roster spot, and he is better than anything left in the free agent market.

    Tay on the other hand is a great bargaining chip! One year at 11 mil, great D and character for rent; could easily be resigned for less if you don’t want to see him go. I expect the telephones to start ringing now that a certain BIG 3 are no longer looking for work.

    Reply
  14. edt

    if we just play all our best guys we will have Ben Wallace at center as long as he stays healthy, Monroe at power forward, Jerebko, SF, Rip Hamilton and Stuckey.

    We have the same damn problem we have had for a while. We got a bunch up at small forward, we got Charlie V, Tay, Jerebko, Daye, Summers, and a pile up at shooting guard, Stuckey, Rip and Ben Gordon, and I don’t think White will be our point guard, and if we play Bynum at point, that means we got Ben, Stuckey and Rip all trying to rotate into one slot.

    Come on Joe trade away some of our small forwards and shooting guards. I’m glad we have Ben Wallace. Maybe he’ll stay healthy another year.

    But we got to trade away some of our small forwards and shooting guards. It’s not just a matter of the ego of a player not getting his minutes, it’s about getting enough playing time to get into playoff shape and sharpen your skills.

    I don’t want to go into next season with a pile up that gives the coach no option but to play his best player short rotations.

    I’d rather go into next season with a roster of 8 players than another year with a pileup at SF and SG

    Reply
  15. chef

    Do you think a Rip to Sacramento trade is feasible? In return, Detroit receives Jason Thompson and a draft pick.

    Their backcourt atm is basically Beno, Tyreke and Garcia. They have cap room to absorb Rip’s contract and their frontcourt is loaded. Thompson would be 3rd choice PF behind Landry and Cousins.

    Reply
  16. daddy

    give monroe and joe some time we will pull off some trades and it will be a sf or a sg. monroe will learn from ben he seems like a young guy who is mature and can learn to be a dominate force on d. if he takes ben’s work out to heart he will bulk up and be strong as a mule. i got faith in my team. yes i said my team cause some of you seem like your not putting much faith in it so i wont group you along side us fans.

    Reply
  17. Jesse

    @Danny Bohnlein

    The point is that these players all have contracts that are in about the same ballpark, and it’s well known that they had all been on the block for a while now. Considering how productive Rip can still be on the floor, he is at least as valuable as any of those guys even with the slightly larger contract. Dumars should have been able to find some kind of beneficial deal by now….

    That being said, I think a deal can be made to send Rip to Dallas; seems like a good fit to me. I’m not sure of exactly how it could work, but Butler (expiring) or Terry (2 yrs) or both would probably be involved. Neither really does anything for us on the floor, but they have value as expirings and give this franchise some much needed flexibility with the roster.

    Reply
  18. pistons 4 life

    If Joe waits any longer there will be no trades left to made. This team will be exactly the way it was last year, plus the draft picks. GUARANTEED!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  19. James (Australia)

    I don’t buy that pistons 4 life. Dumars biggest – not always best, but definitely biggest – have always come much closer to the start of the season.

    Reply
  20. Diogenes

    I think Joe will have the latitude to do his job once this team is sold. I read somewhere that he had a trade in place to trade Hamilton for Boozer but it was squashed by Mrs. D. We can’t have BG and Rip – two starters – occupying the same space and time.

    This is the softest Pistons team ever. CV and Monroe in the middle? That’s a far cry from the worm and Laimbeer or the Wallace brothers. Nice guys finish last Joe – come on man! Cousins is a beast – we should have traded up to the four spot with Minnesota at all costs.

    Reply
  21. not tryna b negative

    letsbhonwst the pistons arent close to contend for a ship or the playoffs lets just hope this team is here in the years to come

    Reply
  22. Amer-ican Prince

    im tired of the guys who are playing for us being reduced to contracts and number guys. Now i know the players i want to come here, and which ones i dont. We the pistons through thick and thin now its time to get the win

    Reply
  23. Diogenes

    I’m a Piston for life. I love Joe D. If he doesn’t turn this thing around in the next two years it’s time to give Laimbeer a shot. Diogenes the dog is a bad boy for life. It might be time to bench number 4.

    Reply
  24. pistons 4 life

    I know this is a pipe dream, but I’ve heard rumblings that the Spurs might be ready to move Tony Parker and let George Hill take over at the point. And I don’t know if they’re re-signing Jefferson this year. So they’ll need a shooting guard. It would be awesome if a trade could work where they get Hamilton and we get Parker. Then we’d actually have a real point guard.

    I can dream right?

    Reply
  25. N1ck

    Well, it’s clear which parts we are missing to get back to the playoffs…

    If the team stays like this we’ll not gonna see them this year…

    And this team isn’t really that bad, it’s just awfully imbalanced…

    Reply
  26. edt

    I’d like to dump white, summers, rip, prince, leaving us with a roster of stuckey, jerebko, wallace, gordon, charlie, maxiell, daye, monroe and bynum, and try to fill up point guard and center

    We need more size. A true point guard would be nice but we dont need it to win.

    Bosh in Miami basically told the team that he refused to be the only guy on the block, that the had to sign someone big. So now Miami is going to get Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

    Gotta say, Z will be great with the heat, because Lebron is already comfortable with how Z plays.

    Reply
  27. pistons 4 life

    I think the NBA is desperately in need of more quality big men. A pair of great bigs usually = a great team. There’s just not enough of them to go around. We need more Duncans, Shaqs (in his prime), Garnets, Howards, ect.

    Reply
  28. Amer-ican Prince

    pistons 4 life i dont see much difference in tony parker and rodney stuckeys game, penetrating scoring point guards.

    and in terms of big men we need more wallaces ben and sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed 🙂

    Reply
  29. pistons 4 life

    I can agree that their games are similar, but I would give Parker the edge based on the success he’s had with the Spurs and I thinks he’s more polished.

    Reply
  30. Wade

    We need SHEEEEEEEEEED back in the D to give us some swagga. We should hire SHEEEEEEEEED as a coach and he can teach Charlie V to shoot the damn 3 effectivly.

    Reply
  31. TRADE RIP TO A CONTENDER SUPPORTER

    Everybody keeps talking bout Rips monster or bad contract but realistic his contract is not that bad compared to other contracts. And in my opinion he really is our teams best player at his position. It’s crazy how soon we want a player gone and take for granted what he has meant to our team. I would like to see him retire a piston which is probably likely and if not then Joe D should trade him to a contender because the champ still has something left in the tank……..Shame on you ungrateful piston fans…No loyalty exist anymore…Sad….Sad…..Sad

    Reply
  32. Rashit Flawless (Russia)

    I think there are many fans like me, I think that if Joe D went into rebuilding process, he wanted something to change.
    Now, when we have last season in our pockets, we can somehow judge how these new peices match.
    And now it’s absolutely clear, that there’s something wrong. BG just can’t play with RIP in the same team, because they both have an opinion about how this team should play: Rip has one opinion, BG has another and they demand others to see basketball like they see it.
    This miscommunication+injuries+Kuester’s minutes management…I mean, RIP and BG not complement each other.

    And everyone who wants RIP go, wants it because RIP is older, has this bad contract (that is not bad since Darko has 20.000.000 and Joe Joe 123.700.000) and Joe D made it clear that he wants something to change, and RIP belongs to the good old Pistons, not to rebuilding team we have now.

    We need someone Big, that’s why RIP’s trade can really help.

    If you ask me, I’ll tell you I want Prince go because of his expiring contract, I want enyone go but RIP. And if you ask me BG or RIP, I’ll tell you that RIP for me is most likely the best player in our roster what comes to leadership, experience and ability to play at the same level through the season, without major collapses

    Reply
  33. Rashit Flawless (Russia)

    Sometimes Joe’s descisions are shocking, but I’ve nothing to do but trust him and hope he knows what he’s doing
    I have too much to doubt his trades and signings, but let’s wait till the end of this summer, maybe Joe has something to make us happy
    At least, he picked Monroe for us, I think it was a good pick, the best big man from those who left there at the moment

    Reply
  34. edt

    no question rip is better than ben gordon at shooting guard, especially on defense that’s not the problem, the problem is that stuckey plays more like a combo/shooting guard than a point, so we have a pileup at shooting guard, stuckey rip & BG can’t all be on the same team.

    Now it would be nice if we could dump BG but you can’t do that. We never gave him a decent change in detroit. How many other free agents will go to detroit if they know they won’t even get a fair chance before they get tossed out.

    Anyway, everyone knows what the deal is, I have to assume that Joe D is having real difficulty trading Rip & Tay. He’s no dummy he saw the lakers win. That team had size, and not Kwame “potato hands” Brown size, but size and soft hands.

    I’m pretty sure that when the no hand check rules got enforced more by the refs, Joe D thought a less physical, longer team with length but not the weight would be the new thing, but the problem is that they only call the no hand checks on the perimeter, on the black, anything goes, so our long guys without any strength get dominated.

    Reply
  35. 重庆清洁

    Wow,Fantastic article,it’s so helpful to me,and your blog is very good,I’ve learned a lot from your blog here,Keep on going,my friend,I will keep an eye on it,welcome to重庆清洁.

    Reply

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Pistons

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Pistons Past

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