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2022 Free Agents - Rodney McGruder

Summary
After some early career success in Miami, McGruder has struggled to find the same level of success he had with the Heat. His minutes decreased each year through 2021 before increasing slightly in '21-'22. The Nuggets apparently showed some interest in acquiring McGruder in a trade for Bol Bol, but the trade was voided after Bol failed his physical. 

McGruder showed some capable playmaking ability out of the pick-and-roll when he was with the Heat, but we haven't seen that as much in recent years. McGruder now operates primarily as just a spot-up threat. After shooting poorly from outside early in his career, McGruder has hit 42% of his threes with the Pistons. The sample size is small at just over 150 attempts, but if he can continue that level of shooting he could stick around in the league.

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. I'm not sure McGruder will stick around in the NBA, but the Nuggets showing some interest is a good sign.


Cap Considerations
McGruder will be an unrestricted free agent with a $1.8 million cap hold and Full Bird rights, meaning the Pistons will have no restrictions on re-signing him. If McGruder re-signs with Detroit for a starting salary above the minimum, the Pistons can utilize his low cap hold and use cap space before re-signing him. However, I don't expect this to come into play since I don't think McGruder will get offers above the minimum.

Other teams will have multiple ways to sign McGruder as even teams without cap space could possibly use either of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Taxpayer MLE, Room MLE, or the Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. However, I don't expect any offers for McGruder to be above the minimum, and he may not even get fully-guaranteed offers.

Potential Teams: Nuggets, Pistons, Pelicans, Mavericks, Heat

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $2.2 million (non-guaranteed) with the Nuggets

Actual Contract: 1-year, $2.3 million ($1.8 million cap hit) with the Pistons

McGruder re-signed with the Pistons on another minimum contract, and was able to get a fully-guaranteed contract, despite not being a lock to make the final roster. Given the Pistons' low team salary, I don't think they'll hesitate to waive guaranteed money (even recently signed players) if they think that's best for the team.

Last updated: 8/3/2022

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