Pistons, Isaiah Stewart reportedly agree to four-year, $64 million extension

At some point the Detroit Pistons will have to trade a center to balance out the roster, but that was never likely to be Isaiah Stewart.

The Pistons have locked up their defensive-minded big man with a four-year, $64 million extension off his rookie deal, a story broken by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and confirmed by others later.

This will essentially be a mid-level exception contract once it kicks in in 2024-25 (Stewart will make $5.3 million this coming season on the final season of his rookie deal). Also, the final year of the four-year extension is a team option.

That seems about the fair market value for a player who is both an impactful defender as a starter and a flawed offensive player (knock off the team option year and it's a 3-year, $48 million extension, right about what Naz Reid just got). If, as the Pistons hope, Jalen Duren becomes the starting center and takes over that role, this Stewart contract is tradable (and there have been teams calling in the past year asking about him, including the Celtics).

If Stewart's offensive game improves, suddenly this contract is a steal. Last season he averaged 11.8 points a game but had a pedestrian 56 true shooting percentage and struggled from 3 (32.7%). The Pistons have made the bet Stewart takes a step forward on that end of the court.

With Stewart, Duren, Marvin Bagley III and James Wiseman on the Pistons' roster at center, expect someone to get traded in the next year.