NBA Offseason Grades: Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns make bold moves

Detroit Pistons

Although the Detroit Pistons lost two building blocks in Christian Wood and Luke Kennard, I give general manager Troy Weaver and the Pistons credit for being aggressive in free agency. The standout move they made was acquiring Jerami Grant in a sign in trade with the Nuggets.

With Grant, you get an athletic forward who can play both positions and can defend the pick in roll well. His 3-point shooting has improved and Grant is super explosive in transition and his long arms make him a rim protector. Although he might not be a go-to guy, Mason Plumlee is a center who will always play hard, whether he starts or comes off the bench he will give you everything he has.

Jahlil Okafor hasn’t gotten that many minutes since his rookie season in the NBA but has proven when he gets minutes he can still score in the post against most of the centers in the league. Josh Jackson is a player who Phoenix had high hopes for when they selected him as the 4th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. At the University of Kansas, he looked unstoppable, but in the NBA he has yet to find his game. It’s a good gamble for Detroit who has nothing to lose.

Delon Wright has been a solid role player in his career and should continue that trend with the Pistons. Selecting Killian Hayes in the draft was a no-brainer after the Reggie Jackson experiment didn’t work. Although Detroit plays in the East, their fortune will depend on the health of Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose, two players who have had to deal with tough injuries in their career, but both players have the ability to elevate a team when healthy.

Grade: B