Detroit made a clear offensive statement by trading Isaiah Stewart to the Memphis Grizzlies and acquiring Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Joe for two future second-round picks. Joe’s 42.3% career-best 3-point shooting and two-year deal give the Pistons spacing and flex
For Detroit, the offseason didn’t start with a press conference or a slogan. It started with a move aimed at one specific thing: getting the ball moving the way it needs to move when defenses start tightening.
On Friday, June 26, the Pistons acquired Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe for two second-round picks. Joe is a 6-foot-4 shooting guard. and last season he averaged 11.1 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 45.5% overall and 42.3% from 3 in 71 games. It’s the kind of production that fits a team that knows it has to upgrade its offense after a second-round exit to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Joe is the 3-point option Detroit has been searching for. He’s a high-volume shooter and, even though he fell out of the Thunder’s rotation during the playoffs, the Pistons are bringing him in to fill their biggest spacing need. His 42.3% from 3 last season was a career-best mark.
Detroit’s spacing isn’t empty now. Along with Duncan Robinson, the Pistons have two players who can anchor that part of the floor. According to Cleaning The Glass. Detroit scored 10.2 more points per 100 possessions when Robinson was on the floor last year. with Cade Cunningham (+7.3) and Jalen Duren (+6.4) ranking second and third.
Still, the Pistons’ shooting picture has limits. Outside of Robinson, they lacked reliable shooting. And Robinson’s contract structure leaves Detroit with a potential escape route this summer. Robinson is considered a candidate to be waived if the Pistons want to create cap space for a free-agency move. Only $2 million of his roughly $16 million salary next season is guaranteed. and Detroit would have to waive him to clear enough space to be active in the free agency market.
The Isaiah Joe contract also keeps Detroit’s plan practical. Joe has two years left on a reasonable four-year. $48 million deal he signed with the Thunder. with the two most expensive years already paid on a descending deal. He’ll make $11.3 million each of the next two years, with the 2027-28 season a club option, according to Spotrac.
The Joe trade followed a separate roster shuffle earlier in the week. On Tuesday night, Detroit selected Stanford freshman guard Ebuka Okorie, trading up four spots with the Memphis Grizzlies to No. 17 overall in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft.
Then came the clearing of a veteran contract. On Wednesday, the Pistons dumped Isaiah Stewart and his $15 million contract to the Grizzlies for the same three future second-rounders they’d traded to them one night earlier.
One storyline ties these moves together: Detroit is adjusting its spacing and its payroll flexibility at the same time. Joe adds a proven 3-point weapon. while the Stewart move and the possible Robinson waiver both point to Detroit trying to keep options open as it builds around the core they’re already committed to.
That core is led by Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, and Ausar Thompson. Third-year president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon has emphasized building around that trio this summer, with repeated focus on adding more shooting and ball-handling.
The Pistons’ urgency makes sense when you remember where they went wrong. Detroit finished 60-22 last season—the third-best record in franchise history and their best since 2005-06—and they pushed deep in the playoffs. They fell to the Cavaliers in seven games in their deepest postseason run in 18 years. and Game 7 ended in a 125-94 loss at home that followed a blown 2-0 series lead.
Now the question is whether Detroit’s offense will look more like the regular season and less like the version that got exposed in the playoffs. With Isaiah Joe in the fold and decisions looming around shooting and salary. the Pistons are betting the next step is widening the floor—and making sure the ball finds the places defenses can’t leave open.
Detroit Pistons Isaiah Joe Oklahoma City Thunder Isaiah Stewart Memphis Grizzlies NBA Draft 2026 Ebuka Okorie Cade Cunningham Jalen Duren Ausar Thompson Duncan Robinson