Update #1, Mar. 4: The Pistons have claimed Jordan McRae off of waivers, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports.
With injuries to multiple players in the backcourt, including Derrick Rose, the Detroit Pistons are considering a waiver claim for guard Jordan McRae. Yahoo’s Chris Haynes reports the Pistons may block the Phoenix Suns as an expected landing spot for McRae.
McRae was waived by the Denver Nuggets last week after playing in just four games after being acquired at the trade deadline from the Washington Wizards. It was expected that McRae would land with the Suns either via waiver claim or by signing with Phoenix if he claimed waivers. The Pistons would have waiver priority over the Suns due to Detroit having a worse record.
If Detroit or Phoenix claims McRae, they’ll inherit his Early Bird rights as a free agent this summer. With a small cap hold of $1.7M, McRae would take up very little cap space, and could re-sign with either team.
With Derrick Rose recently ruled out for weeks due to a sprained right ankle, the Pistons need scoring depth in the backcourt. Luke Kennard has been out with knee tendinitis since late-December. Second-year guard Bruce Brown has missed the Pistons last three games with a left knee contusion.
McRae would add immediate depth to the backcourt as a scoring guard. And with his Early Bird rights, the Pistons could have themselves a nice piece moving forward as well.
