The Detroit Pistons bid to contend in the Eastern Conference next season continues, as they have swung a sign and trade with the Milwaukee Bucks to bring in point guard Brandon Jennings and pay him $25 million over the next three seasons.
Jennings was dealt to Detroit for the Pistons own young point guard Brandon Knight, center Viacheslav Kravtsov and forward Khris Middleton. He will join a promising group of Pistons that already featured a frontcourt of Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond, and free agent signee Josh Smith.
Last season Jennings averaged 17.5 points per game, 6.5 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals for the Bucks, who surprised many by earning the Eastern Conference eighth seed and making the playoffs, where they were swept by the Miami Heat.
The centerpiece for Milwaukee, Brandon Knight, has been slightly disappointing for the Pistons in his first two NBA seasons. In two years he's averaged a combined 13.1 points, 3.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 41 percent from the field and 37 percent from 3-point range. The Pistons added veteran point guard Chauncey Billups this offseason presumably to take Knight under his wing, but now that plan has gone out the window.
On the plus side, Knight is still just 21 years old with plenty of room for improvement. Additionally, he costs significantly less than Jennings does, with three years and just over $8 million left on his rookie deal.
As a restricted free agent, Jennings did not find the receptive market he expected, hanging out on a limb for almost the entire month of July. According to ESPN, Jennings was considering a return to the Bucks on a one-year qualifying offer that would take him into unrestricted free agency the following summer.
Now the Pistons hope pairing their new point guard with combo guard Rodney Stuckey won't bring about the same frustrations Jennings had while playing alongside Monta Ellis with the Bucks.
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