The top 5 NBA free agent centers for Pistons to sign .

[7r5ur]

I read (can't remember the source) that he only started to sit Muscala because he/agent requested a trade.

Could be the case, and solid chance he wouldn't come here to be the insurance big. Seems like we'll just have to wait to see what's left when free agents get really desperate. Not many players want to sign on to ride the bench on a team that won 14 games last year lol

The sad fact is that if said FA was a rim protector then he probably wouldn't sit.

I don't really see who that could be though. Who would take the limited center minutes that are available from Duren and Stewart?

If you're bringing in someone to play regular rotation minutes they'll basically have to be good enough to get you to trade Duren or Stewart. And I'm just not sure I see who that could realistically be.

That's why it seems like it will be an insurance big that really isn't an every day rotation player, barring some huge trade happening.

Paul Reed is the only big left that intrigues me as a real rotation player, but I'm curious why Philly just waived him and wanted Drummond instead. If Reed was good couldn't they have gotten something for him? I admittedly haven't watched him a lot. I see he has a decent block rate, but when you look at his defensive field goal percentage within 6 ft of the hoop, he's actually pretty bad, way worse than Stew. Reed is barely above Duren, who is near the bottom of the league as a center.

[Invictus88]

Could be the case, and solid chance he wouldn't come here to be the insurance big. Seems like we'll just have to wait to see what's left when free agents get really desperate. Not many players want to sign on to ride the bench on a team that won 14 games last year lol

The sad fact is that if said FA was a rim protector then he probably wouldn't sit.

I don't really see who that could be though. Who would take the limited center minutes that are available from Duren and Stewart?

If you're bringing in someone to play regular rotation minutes they'll basically have to be good enough to get you to trade Duren or Stewart. And I'm just not sure I see who that could realistically be.

That's why it seems like it will be an insurance big that really isn't an every day rotation player, barring some huge trade happening.

Paul Reed is the only big left that intrigues me as a real rotation player, but I'm curious why Philly just waived him and wanted Drummond instead. If Reed was good couldn't they have gotten something for him? I admittedly haven't watched him a lot. I see he has a decent block rate, but when you look at his defensive field goal percentage within 6 ft of the hoop, he's actually pretty bad, way worse than Stew. Reed is barely above Duren, who is near the bottom of the league as a center.

Neither Duren nor Stewart have shown that they can be a consistent starting-level rim protector.

With Stew it's interesting. It's undeniable that he has good numbers but at the same time to me at least he seemed to greatly struggle against larger players in terms of contests and rebounds. Is there something that his defensive fg % numbers are accounting for that aren't specific to being good rim protection? Like if he switches out to a perimeter player (something he is better at than a larger player) is that outside fg% (which is guaranteed to be lower than if it was in the paint) counted in your numbers? I could just be grasping at straws though?

[7r5ur]

The sad fact is that if said FA was a rim protector then he probably wouldn't sit.

I don't really see who that could be though. Who would take the limited center minutes that are available from Duren and Stewart?

If you're bringing in someone to play regular rotation minutes they'll basically have to be good enough to get you to trade Duren or Stewart. And I'm just not sure I see who that could realistically be.

That's why it seems like it will be an insurance big that really isn't an every day rotation player, barring some huge trade happening.

Paul Reed is the only big left that intrigues me as a real rotation player, but I'm curious why Philly just waived him and wanted Drummond instead. If Reed was good couldn't they have gotten something for him? I admittedly haven't watched him a lot. I see he has a decent block rate, but when you look at his defensive field goal percentage within 6 ft of the hoop, he's actually pretty bad, way worse than Stew. Reed is barely above Duren, who is near the bottom of the league as a center.

Neither Duren nor Stewart have shown that they can be a consistent starting-level rim protector.

With Stew it's interesting. It's undeniable that he has good numbers but at the same time to me at least he seemed to greatly struggle against larger players in terms of contests and rebounds. Is there something that his defensive fg % numbers are accounting for that aren't specific to being good rim protection? Like if he switches out to a perimeter player (something he is better at than a larger player) is that outside fg% (which is guaranteed to be lower than if it was in the paint) counted in your numbers? I could just be grasping at straws though?

The defensive FG% number referred to with Stewart is within 6 feet of the rim according to NBA.com. It's not including outside shots. That certainly can also include instances where Stew (or Duren) switches onto perimeter players and then defends their shot near the rim, which is something Stew excels at and someone like Duren is very bad at. No doubt that's a big factor, but that's rim protection too.

[kellmellus50]

Detroit Pistons claim ex-Philadelphia 76ers C Paul Reed off waivers

Pistons decline options on Chimezie Metu, Stanley Umude

[theBigLip]

Duren/Stew/Reed. At least we have a little depth now.

[kellmellus50]

Duren/Stew/Reed. At least we have a little depth now.

We still need 1 more big like Bagley , he cost us 4= 2nds 2 to get him and 2 to get rid of him UGH

[Piston Pete]

Duren/Stew/Reed. At least we have a little depth now.

We still need 1 more big like Bagley , he cost us 4= 2nds 2 to get him and 2 to get rid of him UGH

Why do we need another?

[kellmellus50]

Duren/Stew/Reed. At least we have a little depth now.

We still need 1 more big like Bagley , he cost us 4= 2nds 2 to get him and 2 to get rid of him UGH

Why do we need another?

This is easy, here's and example how is our centers at 6'8 or 6'9 going to handle giannis antetokounmpo Height 6′ 11″, Weight 243 lbs ?
I can do this all day comparing centers from other teams much bigger than our centers,were going to lose this battle of centers.

[SuperBad]

I think we got a pretty balance roster and filled all the roles we need, a veteran PG, but it’s not like there’s a real winner out there that would come here. I think we just wait for the bigger trade to come together now, and see what Bickerstaff can do.
If a good deal comes our way before January I think u do it, otherwise let’s just see how they do with a coach who cares, and a balanced roster.

[kellmellus50]

I think we got a pretty balance roster and filled all the roles we need, a veteran PG, but it’s not like there’s a real winner out there that would come here. I think we just wait for the bigger trade to come together now, and see what Bickerstaff can do.
If a good deal comes our way before January I think u do it, otherwise let’s just see how they do with a coach who cares, and a balanced roster.

Were balanced untill you go to centers we need a 7 ft 245 lb center that can't be pushed around.

[Crymson]

Neither Duren nor Stewart have shown that they can be a consistent starting-level rim protector.

With Stew it's interesting. It's undeniable that he has good numbers but at the same time to me at least he seemed to greatly struggle against larger players in terms of contests and rebounds. Is there something that his defensive fg % numbers are accounting for that aren't specific to being good rim protection? Like if he switches out to a perimeter player (something he is better at than a larger player) is that outside fg% (which is guaranteed to be lower than if it was in the paint) counted in your numbers? I could just be grasping at straws though?

Stew was a top-five rim protector by percentage among starting centers during his sophomore season, the last one in which he played full-time at center.

I'm not sure why Stew's defense gets persistently undersold. Outside of a small number of scenarios in which he's situationally weak, he's a strong all-around defender. He's a potent rim protector, a stout paint defender, and an excellent switch defender, he's very smart, and competes hard on every play. His defense during his sophomore season was unambiguously good. He had his issues against Embiid, but so does everyone, and he certainly didn't get walked on (he did significantly better against Joel in this past season).

His primary issues as a player are found on the defensive glass and in the interior on offense. Those are concerns. His defense at center is not.

[7r5ur]

We still need 1 more big like Bagley , he cost us 4= 2nds 2 to get him and 2 to get rid of him UGH

Why do we need another?

This is easy, here's and example how is our centers at 6'8 or 6'9 going to handle giannis antetokounmpo Height 6′ 11″, Weight 243 lbs ?
I can do this all day comparing centers from other teams much bigger than our centers,were going to lose this battle of centers.

Ironic to bring up Giannis as the example when it was a game where Reed defended Giannis especially well that is one of his big claims to fame in Philly. Stew is also one of the better Giannis defenders. It’s the quickness in the open floor in combination with size that make Giannis so hard to guard and that quickness is the strength of Reed/Stew as defenders. Guys Giannis’ size are all too slow to defend Giannis.

Not that anyone can actually stop Giannis anyways.

[dVs33]

Neither Duren nor Stewart have shown that they can be a consistent starting-level rim protector.

With Stew it's interesting. It's undeniable that he has good numbers but at the same time to me at least he seemed to greatly struggle against larger players in terms of contests and rebounds. Is there something that his defensive fg % numbers are accounting for that aren't specific to being good rim protection? Like if he switches out to a perimeter player (something he is better at than a larger player) is that outside fg% (which is guaranteed to be lower than if it was in the paint) counted in your numbers? I could just be grasping at straws though?

Stew was a top-five rim protector by percentage among starting centers during his sophomore season, the last one in which he played full-time at center.

I'm not sure why Stew's defense gets persistently undersold. Outside of a small number of scenarios in which he's situationally weak, he's a strong all-around defender. He's a potent rim protector, a stout paint defender, and an excellent switch defender, he's very smart, and competes hard on every play. His defense during his sophomore season was unambiguously good. He had his issues against Embiid, but so does everyone, and he certainly didn't get walked on (he did significantly better against Joel in this past season).

His primary issues as a player are found on the defensive glass in the interior on offense. Those are concerns. His defense at center is not.

This is why I'm not in as much of a rush to trade stew.
He's the only legitimate defensive big we have.
I think we need to see what we have with our young guys with the new coach/system before making any big swing trades

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[Kalamazoo317]

If we want to get a talented 7-footer, we'll need to draft one. Not going to get one worth our while in free agency.

[bstein14]

When looking at block percentage last season..... Reed, Duren, Stew, Thompson and Tobias all in the top 75 players in the NBA. That isn't really just rim protection its overall blocks so not all of that comes from help side much of it might come from man to man defense but that's pretty good to have 5 players in the top 75. Obviously just getting blocks also doesn't mean good defense but if nothing else our bigs have potential to be entertaining on that end this season if Thompson, Reid, Duren, and Stew all stay healthy.

[bstein14]

If we want to get a talented 7-footer, we'll need to draft one. Not going to get one worth our while in free agency.

Yes, we were going to have to overpay Hartenstein this summer to get one. He actually had great advanced metrics previously before he signed with the Knicks he was a FA many people here thought Weaver should target back in 2022. It's another move that if he would have signed Hartenstein to a four year deal for $36 to $40 million Weaver might still be here... Knicks gave him 2 years and $17 million. Instead Weaver gave Marvin Bagley 3 years $37.5 million and the rest is history.

[SuperBad]

I personally think that Duran will take a big step this season on defense, Bickerstaff will bring it out of him, I would give him another year especially with Stew and Reed giving him competition . I think Monty’s I’m here for the money vibe spread through the team.

[Kalamazoo317]

He needs to. If Duren can play like he did the first three games of last season, he's a high level starter for us longterm. If he can't recapture that magic this season, we probably need to explore other options more seriously.

[Piston Pete]

Hypothetical trade:

PF/C Stewart to the Heat

C Ware and PF Jovic to Pistons?