Paul Reed Claimed By Pistons After 76ers Release; Updated Salary Cap, Depth Chart

The Detroit Pistons announced Tuesday that veteran center Paul Reed was claimed off waivers following his release from the Philadelphia 76ers.

He'll enter a bit of a logjam at the center position with Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart already in Detroit. The team's depth chart, at present, looks as follows:

• PG: Cade Cunningham / Marcus Sasser
• SG: Jaden Ivey / Malik Beasley 
• SF: Ausar Thompson / Tim Hardaway Jr. / Ron Holland II
• PF: Tobias Harris / Simone Fontecchio / Bobi Klintman
• C: Duren / Stewart / Reed

With Reed on a non-guaranteed $7.7 million contract this season, the Pistons now have $135.3 million in cap allocations for the 2024-25 season, according to Spotrac. Currently, that leaves them with $5.2 million in cap space.

The 25-year-old Reed is a bouncy, athletic big man best suited to playing center in smaller lineups. In the 2023-24 season he averaged career-highs in scoring (7.3 PPG), rebounding (6.0 RPG) and blocks (1.0 BPG), finally handed the primary backup center duties behind Joel Embiid.

Once the Sixers signed Andre Drummond and drafted Adem Bona in the second round, however, it was clear that Reed's time in Philly had come to a close. Releasing his non-guaranteed salary helped clear up space for other moves, including the signing of Caleb Martin, as the Sixers surrounded the big three of Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey with wings and shooting.

As for the Pistons, Reed's addition was the latest in what has been an... interesting offseason thus far.

The team surprised some draft pundits by taking a chance on Holland with the No. 5 overall pick after his struggles with the G League Ignite saw his draft stock take a hit. Holland was once a highly-coveted prospect, however, so Detroit taking a swing on his ceiling was defensible.

The team then made some surprising free agency decisions, none more so than signing the 32-year-old Harris to a two-year, $52 million deal. Harris steadily declined throughout his Philadelphia tenure and was virtually non-existent for the Sixers in last season's playoffs, averaging just nine points per game against the New York Knicks.

The Pistons then traded Quentin Grimes to Dallas for Hardaway Jr. and a trio of second-round picks, re-signed Fontecchio on a two-year, $16 million deal and signed Beasley to a one-year, $6 million contract. JB Bickerstaff was also hired as the team's next head coach after just one season under Monty Williams.

Some of those moves reflected solid value. Others, like the Harris and Hardaway additions, earned some raised eyebrows:

The Pistons clearly prioritized adding veterans around the young core of Cunningham, Ivey, Thompson, Duren and Holland after last season's disastrous 14-68 campaign. It was clear the team needed a culture shift. Whether those assets were best allocated toward players like Harris and Hardaway is more questionable.

Either way, the future clearly revolves around Cunningham, who agreed to a five-year, $224 million max extension earlier on Tuesday. Whether the Pistons have added complementary young prospects and the right sort of veterans around him, however, remains to be seen.