It's time for the Pistons to cut McGruder/Boeheim and sign two of the top G-League Players

In Troy we trust. That's a phrase many Pistons fans have used since Troy Weaver took the Pistons GM job in the spring of 2020. Frankly he's earned this fanbases trust with the incredible and complete transformation of the roster from a mismatched mess into a team with a strong young core that looks to have a very bright future ahead. Really the only complaint you hear/read about Troy is that he bypassed Tyrese Haliburton to choose Killian Hayes. A mistake for sure, but with the way Killian has been playing the past month perhaps not as glaring as once thought.

The only other issue i have is with some of his roster management decisions. As anyone who follows me on Twitter or has ready my posts here knows I am not a big fan of Rodney McGruder taking up a roster spot. I understand he is a good mentor to our young players and a great teammate but IMO a rebuilding team should not waste a roster spot on a vet who does not contribute on the court. I'd much rather see that spot given to a promising young player they can develop in the G league when he is not not needed on the main roster. I have my doubts McGruder would be able to find a spot on another NBA roster if he was not with the Pistons. If he couldn't find a new home Detroit could always bring him back as some type of assistant coach where his mentoring skills would still have impact without taking up a valuable roster spot.

Then there is the issue of Weaver giving his good friend Jim Boeheims son Buddy one of our two- way roster spots. IMO Boeheim is not an NBA prospect and could of easily been signed to a G-League deal with the Cruise instead. Even when the Pistons have been shorthanded Boeheim has not been recalled to the main roster. Being avaialble (and good enough) to be called up due to injures is one of the main reasons 2 way spots were created.

Now is the time to cut the dead weight and fill those roster spots with a couple top G players that can both be developed and fill in if/when injuries hit. In less then a week the unofficial trade deadline kicks in as players who were signed during the offseason will be eligible to be traded. There are going to be uneven trades where teams will need to sign players to get their roster back up to 14/15 players. It's time to strike now while we can have our pick of the best the G Legaue has to offer.

The two G League players that caught my eye are PG Sharife Cooper and C Jay Huff.

The 21 year old Sharife Cooper was a 2nd round pick of the Hawks in 2021 and played last season on a two way contract with ATL. With Cade likely facing season ending surgery the Pistons could use some depth at the PG spot. Coopers shooting #'s in the G league are off the chart. 49% on FGS, 44% on 3PFG's on 6 attempts per game, Since we still have all our MLE avaialbe we could give him a 3 year deal starting at just over the minimum with team options for the mimimum (or slightly above) in years 2 and 3. Signing Cooper now would give the Pistons an in house replacement if Cojo were to be traded later this season.

The 7'1" 25 year old Jay Huff went undrafted out of Virginia in 2021. He did play 5 game with the Lakers last year. Huff has been a shot blocking machine in the G League (averaging 3.7 per game) and is hitting over 41% of his 3PT attempts. He would give the Pistons some big man depth since the team does not seem to have any plans on playing Noel and risking injury to him. I'd sign him to a 2 way contract with the idea of converting it to a standard deal (similar to the one i suggested for Copper) if/when a roster spot opens up.