After a successful regular season and a first-round playoff exit, the Detroit Pistons may look to improve their roster heading into next season.
The Pistons made the playoffs in 2025 with the lowest total payroll in the NBA, per HoopsHype. That in theory should give Detroit’s front office plenty of room to sign free agents and possibly extend young contributors. But first, it will need to take stock of the players it currently has signed.
Detroit only has two players signed to long-term extensions past 2026: Cade Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart.
More of the Pistons young core are in line for rookie extensions soon, including center Jalen Duren, guard Ausar Thompson and guard Jaden Ivey, who have all blossomed into important homegrown players for Detroit.
The Pistons will also have to make decisions on veteran contributors whose contracts will expire soon, including Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dennis Schröder.
Here’s the breakdown of the free agent status of every player currently on the Pistons’ 15-man roster.
Here’s a look at the Pistons’ pending unrestricted free agents this summer. Age as of Oct. 1, 2025:
- SG Malik Beasley, 28
- SG Tim Hardaway Jr., 33
- PG Dennis Schröder, 32
- C Paul Reed, 26
- SG Lindy Waters III, 28
Beasley is a free agent after his one-year, $6 million deal with the Pistons. And considering he just smashed the Pistons’ franchise single-season record for 3-pointers, he should be a top target for the Pistons and likely other NBA franchises in need of shooting this offseason. He has said he wants to remain in Detroit.
Hardaway is also entering free agency after finishing out the four-year contract he originally signed with the Dallas Mavericks. The Pistons picked him up via trade in late June, and he started all 77 games he appeared in during the regular season, plus every playoff game.
Schröder, the veteran point guard, will also be a free agent after playing for three teams (Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors and the Pistons) in the 2024-25 season. Schröder will be entering his 12th season in the NBA and looks like a priority for the Pistons to re-sign.
Other Pistons facing free agency include the backup center, Reed, and swingman Waters, who was also acquired at midseason.
Detroit Pistons free agents in 2026
- C Jalen Duren (restricted)
- G Jaden Ivey (restricted)
- PF Tobias Harris
- F Simone Fontecchio
The two biggest Pistons with expiring contracts in 2026 are Duren and Ivey, who have both become homegrown starters after being selected in the 2022 NBA Draft. And after the Pistons agreed to rookie extensions with both Cunningham and Stewart, they might seek to do the same with both players before they hit free agency.
Both Duren and Ivey — who is coming off a fractured fibula Jan. 1 — are eligible for rookie extensions this summer.
If no deal is reached by the annual late October deadline, the Pistons would be able to make them restricted free agents, allowing the team to match any potential offer from a competing team.
Harris will be an expiring contract next season after signing a two-year, $52 million deal in 2024. Harris could be the oldest player on the roster at 33 next season, but he was also the team’s second-leading scorer this season and has provided veteran stability for the team’s young core.
Detroit Pistons free agents in 2027
- SF Ausar Thompson (restricted)
- PG Marcus Sasser (restricted)
Thompson, a 22-year-old second-year forward, has become a valuable part of the Pistons’ resurgent defense. Detroit can offer Thompson, the No. 5 overall pick in 2023 by former general manager Troy Weaver, a rookie extension when he is eligible after the 2025-26 season.
Sasser, a 24-year-old second-year point guard picked No. 25 in a trade-up in 2023 by the previous regime, saw a lot of action in his rookie season but saw playing time diminish this season, especially with the arrival of Schröder. He has shown he can be a scoring spark off the bench, and currently has two years left on his rookie deal to make an impression.
However, the new regime led by president of basketball of operations Trajan Langdon, could decline to exercise its fourth-year team option with Sasser this offseason, would would make him a 2026 free agent. He would be due $5.2 million in his fourth year.
Detroit Pistons free agents in 2028
- C Isaiah Stewart
- F Ron Holland (restricted)
- F Bobi Klintman
Stewart, who turns 24 on May 22, is currently in Year 1 of his four-year rookie extension that carries a club option for 2027-28 on the final year.
Stewart will be 27 when his extension expires, which should give him an opportunity for another long-term contract should he keep playing at this level. He is the team’s longest-tenured player in Year 5 after being the No. 16 pick in the 2020 draft.
Holland, Langdon’s first-round pick in 2024, will see his rookie contract expire in 2028. The talented 19-year-old wing has plenty of upside and appeared in 81 regular-season games for the Pistons this season. The Pistons must exercise his fourth-year option by Oct. 31, 2026.
Klintman, 22, appeared in eight games for the Pistons in his rookie season in 2024-25 after dealing with injury at the start. The 2024 second-round pick will get a better chance to prove himself this summer and fall.
Detroit Pistons free agents in 2030
- PG Cade Cunningham
No, we didn’t skip 2029, because there’s only one player left to review.
Cunningham, 23, is currently scheduled to earn an estimated $51 million in 2030, which would be a franchise record. But that number could increase if he makes a 2025 All-NBA team which will be announced sometime in May. Still, his salary might be a bargain if he stays healthy and continues his trajectory entering his prime.
The Pistons’ star will be 28 by the time his five-year, $224 million rookie extension expires, which could set him up for an even bigger contract in the summer of 2030.
Of course, if he continues playing the way he did in his first All-Star season, the Pistons would look to offer him an extension well before he even sniffs 2030 free agency.
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