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Summary
After some early career success in Miami, McGruder earned himself a three-year, $15 million contract back in 2019. Only the first year was guaranteed though, and while he (narrowly) made it through the second year of his contract, I expect him to be waived before next season. After one year with the Clippers and one year with the Pistons, McGruder has struggled to find the same level of success he had in Miami. His minutes have decreased each year, and he was not a consistent part of the rotation for the Pistons this past season, playing in only 14 games.
 
McGruder finishes well at the rim, and showed some capable playmaking ability out of the pick-and-roll when he was with the Heat, but his poor outside shooting hurts him. On defense, McGruder is pretty quick but he's only 6'4" and has a thin frame, making it difficult for him to be a real wing stopper. Unless the outside shot starts to fall at a higher rate, I'm not sure McGruder will stick around in the NBA.
 
Cap Considerations
McGruder's $5 million salary for 2021-2022 is non-guaranteed, and if he is waived he will become an unrestricted free agent and the Pistons will have no form of Bird rights on him. The Pistons might remain over the cap even if they waive McGruder, so they won't get much of a benefit by waiving him other than the cost savings. Also, keep in mind that last year the Knicks waived Elfrid Payton and were able to bring him back at a lower number, so the Pistons could try to do the same if they don't think he's worth the $5 million.

If McGruder becomes a free agent, other teams will have multiple ways to sign him as even teams without cap space could possibly use either of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Taxpayer MLE, or possibly even the Room MLE to sign him. Realistically, McGruder will only get minimum offers, and may not even get a fully-guaranteed offer.

Potential Teams: Magic, Pistons, Nuggets, Grizzlies, Raptors

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $1.9 million (non-guaranteed) with the Magic

Actual Contract: 1-year, $1.9 million ($1.7 million cap hit) with the Pistons

McGruder was waived by the Pistons, but was able to re-sign on a minimum contract, which is fully-guaranteed.

Last updated: 8/19/2021

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