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According to Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania, and confirmed by Rod Beard of the Detroit News, the Pistons have signed former Warriors center Zaza Pachulia to a one-year deal. The deal is worth the veteran’s minimum of $2.4 million.
Warriors free agent Zaza Pachulia has agreed to a one-year, $2.4M deal with the Detroit Pistons, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 8, 2018
In order to avoid luxury tax implications from this signing, the Pistons will waive Eric Moreland, who had a non-guaranteed deal.
Confirmed report that #Pistons have waived Eric Moreland and agreed to terms with Zaza Pachulia. Interesting mix of vets and young players now.
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) July 8, 2018
Another interesting wrinkle of this signing is that like Calderon, Pachulia’s contract is only a $1.5 million cap hit, which is important for a team as close to the luxury tax as the Pistons are.
Here's the value to #Pistons' signings: Both Calderon and Pachulia are coming on at vet minimum of $2.4M, but each has a $1.5M cap/tax hit, so it's actually a big savings, with added experience.
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) July 8, 2018
As for the value of Zaza Pachulia on the court, he is a very smart player who is also known around the league for being a bit dirty. Players like that tend to be loved by Pistons fans, but that is usually only the case if they contribute a lot to the team. I am not sure how much playing time Pachulia is going to get with the Pistons expected to give the majority of the big man minutes to Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond. They also hope to increase Henry Ellenson’s role and have Jon Leuer returning from injury.
While Pachulia might not be the most talented player or much of an upgrade over Moreland, he is still a player who has been around and is coming from a championship locker room. The Pistons are in need of some veteran leaders after losing Anthony Tolliver, and maybe some of Pachulia’s basketball IQ can rub off on Andre Drummond.
What are your thoughts on this signing, DBB?