2/11/26 7:30PM Pistons 39-13 @ Raptors 32-22

[Sports_Freak]

Enjoy the D League, Tolu Smith.

[Deleterious]

Wonder how much Toronto regrets that Poeltl extension.  Paying him $28 million per is crazy.  

[Deleterious]

 

[Deleterious]

Pistons won 40 before losing 20.  Phil Jackson said teams that do that are legitimate contenders.  

[NYLion]

The Pistons are really freaking good, that's it that's all.

Ok, one more thing. Is the drop off from Duren to Reed that drastic that the Pistons HAVE TO pay Duren $40m/yr. I just think that's a lot of money to allocate to a position that can be filled relatively easy considering how good Cade is. Duren is better than Reed of course but $30m+/yr better? Ehh, I don't think so. Just some food for thought when it comes to offseason decisions. Of course I know Duren is getting paid regardless of what NYLion says so...

Edited yesterday at 03:11 AM by NYLion

[buddha]

Duren's deal should be determined in part on how he does in the playoffs.  when teams play defense and things matter.  can he score without cade feeding him easy baskets?  can he get rebounds and put backs when the other team's bigs are trying for rebounds on every possession?  can he be a focal point when cade sits?  can he defend the paint?

if he cant - and they think he wont develop any further - then they'd be crazy to pay him.  they may have already backed themselves into a corner so it might not even matter.

what's the alternative?  could they even do a sign and trade?

[Betrayer]

I think the key is to wait and let the market determine his value since he's a restricted free agent. They won't do that because NBA teams are worried about hurting guy's feelings these days, but it's the right move.

[Deleterious]

1 hour ago, Betrayer said:

I think the key is to wait and let the market determine his value since he's a restricted free agent. They won't do that because NBA teams are worried about hurting guy's feelings these days, but it's the right move.

Yep.  Letting the market set his price is the best way to approach it.

I doubt he gets an offer.  Teams don't really sign guys to offer sheets anymore.  According to this article, only four offer sheets have been signed since 2020.  The last one was our very own Paul Reed in 2023.  The last time an offer sheet was signed and not matched by the players original team was 2020 when the Kings did not match the Hawks offer for Bogdan Bogdanovic.  

The article gives a few reasons on why they think offer sheets are way down.  I think their second point is the biggest reason.

Quote

The second reason offer sheets have become less common is due to the rules around the tool itself. When an outside team issues an offer sheet, the player’s home team is given 48 hours to decide if they want to match the terms. But during those two days, the offering team has to sit on their hands and act as if that contract is already on their books, which strips them of the ability to chase after other free agents while they wait. A lot of deals are made in the opening hours of free agency so it makes sense teams wouldn’t want to tie up their cap space and limit their optionality when there’s a good chance the home team is just going to match the offer sheet anyway.

 

[Deleterious]

Spotrac has the Jenkins contract listed.  $3.8 million this season and a flat $4 million next year and its a team option.

That means this year they are about $2.2 million under the luxury tax and $9.1 million under the 1st apron.  Sort of irrelevant since they shouldn't be adding anyone to the roster.

Next year with 11 guys under contract, they are $66 million below the tax line and $73.9 million under the 1st apron.  Obviously Duren's contract will change that.  So will what they do with Harris, Huerter, and Green or any new FA's they bring in.

This summer, starting July 1st, Ausar is extension eligible.  He would have to sign it before the start of next season.  If he doesn't then he will enter restricted free agency in the summer or 2027, just like Duren will do this summer.

I can't see him getting a max contract in his current form, but just in case.  A 25% max contract for him will start in  year 1 at about $41.5 million with 8% raises each year.  It would roughly look like this.

• Year 1 — $41.50M

• Year 2 — $44.82M

• Year 3 — $48.14M

• Year 4 — $51.46M

• Year 5 — $54.78M

Total contract value: $240.70 million

He could still qualify for the larger 30% max contract.  This season or the next he would have to win MVP once, which isn't happening or make the all nba team once, which probably isn't happening.  One other way he could qualify is to win DPOY this season and next, which could actually happen IMO.  But it doesn't matter because he isn't getting a max contract unless he fixes that jumper.  But a 30% max deal looks like this

• Year 1 — $49.80M

• Year 2 — $53.784M

• Year 3 — $57.768M

• Year 4 — $61.752M

• Year 5 — $65.736M

Total contract value: $288.84 million

[Deleterious]

A sports franchise is one of the best investments you can make. 

 

[Shinzaki]

Duren is better defensively than last year...he's putting in the work.  He's added a bit to his arsenal offensively here and there (facing and back to the basket) and his free throw % is good. As a result his offensive efficiency is greatly improved.  He is our best rebounder statistically and by the eye test

I don't know if he's Robin to Cade's Batman...yet...but he's definitely worth "paying"...something..

[Betrayer]

Unlike with Duren and Ivey where I was all for waiting until RFA, I'd consider trying to get Ausar at a decent extension price this summer if possible. If his offense comes around at all next year he's going to get paid big time. Might be best to treat it like Stew and lock him up at a reasonable amount while you can.

Edited 11 hours ago by Betrayer

[buddha]

1 hour ago, Betrayer said:

Unlike with Duren and Ivey where I was all for waiting until RFA, I'd consider trying to get Ausar at a decent extension price this summer if possible. If his offense comes around at all next year he's going to get paid big time. Might be best to treat it like Stew and lock him up at a reasonable amount while you can.

"if" is doing a lot of work there. 

but he's athletic enough to think that if - there's that word again - anyone could have the coordination to learn how to shoot a basketball, its him.

[gehringer_2]

12 minutes ago, buddha said:

"if" is doing a lot of work there. 

but he's athletic enough to think that if - there's that word again - anyone could have the coordination to learn how to shoot a basketball, its him.

I'd like to know what he does in practice. Sometimes with a super high energy player like Thompson they can hit shots in practice all day but under the pressure of game conditions there is too much adrenaline and they just can't marshall that instant of composure needed to get off an accurate shot. I'd rather it was a matter of form or footwork that he can practice his way through than that it's his style of play that make it hard for him.

[Deleterious]

I don't understand how they expect him to get better if he never shoots.  He has taken 5 three point attempts in the past 2 1/2 months, or 33 games.  You need live attempts to see if the practice is helping or not.

I would like to see him start taking 3-4 attempts per game.  Yeah, if it's a tie game with 40 seconds left, don't shoot.  But there is no reason he couldn't have put up a few threes in the Toronto game.  They beat the Knicks by 38, fire up some shots.  

[gehringer_2]

54 minutes ago, Deleterious said:

But there is no reason he couldn't have put up a few threes in the Toronto game.  They beat the Knicks by 38, fire up some shots.  

this - for sure.