2020–21 Detroit Pistons season

The 2020–21 Detroit Pistons season was the 80th season of the franchise, the 73rd in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the fourth in Midtown Detroit. This was the third season under head coach Dwane Casey. On June 18, 2020, the Pistons hired Troy Weaver as their new general manager.^[1] The Pistons finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference, missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season.^[2][3]

2020–21 Detroit Pistons season
Head coach	Dwane Casey
General manager	Troy Weaver
Owner(s)	Tom Gores
Arena	Little Caesars Arena
Results
Record	20–52 (.278)
Place	Division: 5th (Central) Conference: 15th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	Bally Sports Detroit[A]
Radio	WXYT
< 2019–20 2021–22 >

Draft picks

Main article: 2020 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College / Team
1	7	Killian Hayes	Point guard	France	ratiopharm Ulm
1	16	Isaiah Stewart	Power forward / center	United States	Washington
1	19	Saddiq Bey	Small forward	United States	Villanova

The Pistons held one first-round pick entering the draft.^[4] They acquired the draft rights to the 16th overall pick from the Houston Rockets, the 19th overall pick from the Brooklyn Nets, and the 38th overall pick from the Utah Jazz.^[5][6][7]

Roster

2020–21 Detroit Pistons roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From F 41 Saddiq Bey 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1999-04-09 Villanova F 25 Tyler Cook 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1997-09-23 Iowa G 6 Hamidou Diallo 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 1998-07-31 Kentucky F 45 Sekou Doumbouya 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 2000-12-23 France G 8 Wayne Ellington 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 1987-11-29 North Carolina F 9 Jerami Grant 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1994-03-12 Syracuse G 7 Killian Hayes 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-07-27 France G 5 Frank Jackson (TW) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1998-05-04 Duke G/F 20 Josh Jackson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 1997-02-10 Kansas G 18 Cory Joseph 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1991-08-20 Texas G 38 Saben Lee (TW) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1999-06-23 Vanderbilt G 17 Rodney McGruder 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1991-07-29 Kansas State C 13 Jahlil Okafor  6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 270 lb (122 kg) 1995-12-15 Duke C 24 Mason Plumlee 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1990-03-05 Duke G 91 Deividas Sirvydis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-06-10 Lithuania G 0 Dennis Smith Jr. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1997-11-25 NC State F/C 28 Isaiah Stewart 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 2001-05-22 Washington

Head coach Dwane Casey Assistant(s) Sidney Lowe Micah Nori Sean Sweeney Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (GL) On assignment to G League affiliate (TW) Two-way affiliate player Injured Roster Updated: May 12, 2021

Standings

Division

Central Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
y – Milwaukee Bucks	46	26	.639	–	26‍–‍10	20‍–‍16	11–1	72
pi – Indiana Pacers	34	38	.472	12.0	13‍–‍23	21‍–‍15	7–5	72
Chicago Bulls	31	41	.431	15.0	15‍–‍21	16‍–‍20	7–5	72
Cleveland Cavaliers	22	50	.306	24.0	13‍–‍23	9‍–‍27	4–8	72
Detroit Pistons	20	52	.278	26.0	13‍–‍23	7‍–‍29	1–11	72

Conference

Eastern Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	c − Philadelphia 76ers *	49	23	.681	–	72
2	x – Brooklyn Nets	48	24	.667	1.0	72
3	y – Milwaukee Bucks *	46	26	.639	3.0	72
4	x – New York Knicks	41	31	.569	8.0	72
5	y – Atlanta Hawks *	41	31	.569	8.0	72
6	x – Miami Heat	40	32	.556	9.0	72
7	x – Boston Celtics	36	36	.500	13.0	72
8	x – Washington Wizards	34	38	.472	15.0	72
9	pi – Indiana Pacers	34	38	.472	15.0	72
10	pi – Charlotte Hornets	33	39	.458	16.0	72
11	Chicago Bulls	31	41	.431	18.0	72
12	Toronto Raptors	27	45	.375	22.0	72
13	Cleveland Cavaliers	22	50	.306	27.0	72
14	Orlando Magic	21	51	.292	28.0	72
15	Detroit Pistons	20	52	.278	29.0	72

Notes

• z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
• c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
• y – Clinched division title
• x – Clinched playoff spot
• * – Division leader

Game log

Preseason

2020 preseason game log Total: 2–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–1)
Preseason: 2–2 (home: 1–1; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 December 11 New York L 84–90 Bey & Mykhailiuk (14) Blake Griffin (7) Blake Griffin (5) Little Caesars Arena 0–1 2 December 13 New York W 99–91 Sekou Doumbouya (23) Griffin & Okafor (6) Derrick Rose (8) Little Caesars Arena 1–1 3 December 17 @ Washington W 97–86 Josh Jackson (17) Josh Jackson (7) Derrick Rose (6) Capital One Arena 2–1 4 December 19 @ Washington L 96–99 Grant & Rose (14) Jerami Grant (9) Blake Griffin (3) Capital One Arena 2–2
2020–21 season schedule

Regular season

2020–21 game log Total: 20–52 (Home: 13–23; Road: 7–29)
December: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 December 23 @ Minnesota L 101–111 Josh Jackson (19) Sekou Doumbouya (9) Plumlee & Rose (6) Target Center 0 0–1 2 December 26 Cleveland L 119–128 (2OT) Jerami Grant (28) Jerami Grant (10) Mason Plumlee (5) Little Caesars Arena 0 0–2 3 December 28 @ Atlanta L 120–128 Grant & Jackson (27) Mason Plumlee (12) Killian Hayes (8) State Farm Arena 0 0–3 4 December 29 Golden State L 106–116 Jerami Grant (27) Mason Plumlee (10) Derrick Rose (7) Little Caesars Arena 0 0–4
January : 5–11 (home: 4–5; road: 1–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 5 January 1 Boston W 96–93 Jerami Grant (24) Mason Plumlee (17) Killian Hayes (6) Little Caesars Arena 0 1–4 6 January 3 Boston L 120–122 Jerami Grant (22) Mason Plumlee (8) Derrick Rose (8) Little Caesars Arena 0 1–5 7 January 4 @ Milwaukee L 115–125 Jerami Grant (24) Mason Plumlee (8) Mason Plumlee (6) Fiserv Forum 0 1–6 8 January 6 @ Milwaukee L 115–130 Jerami Grant (31) Saddiq Bey (10) Blake Griffin (5) Fiserv Forum 0 1–7 9 January 8 Phoenix W 110–105 Jerami Grant (31) Saddiq Bey (12) Delon Wright (6) Little Caesars Arena 0 2–7 10 January 10 Utah L 86–96 Jerami Grant (28) Mason Plumlee (8) Blake Griffin (5) Little Caesars Arena 0 2–8 11 January 13 Milwaukee L 101–110 Jerami Grant (22) Mason Plumlee (13) Delon Wright (7) Little Caesars Arena 0 2–9 — January 15 Washington Postponed due to COVID-19 (makeup date: April 1)[8] 12 January 16 @ Miami W 120–100 Jerami Grant (24) Isaiah Stewart (11) Delon Wright (10) American Airlines Arena 0 3–9 13 January 18 @ Miami L 107–113 Jerami Grant (27) Mason Plumlee (7) Jerami Grant (6) American Airlines Arena 0 3–10 14 January 20 @ Atlanta L 115–123 (OT) Jerami Grant (32) Mason Plumlee (9) Jerami Grant (5) State Farm Arena 0 3–11 15 January 22 Houston L 102–103 Jerami Grant (21) Griffin & Stewart (10) Mason Plumlee (4) Little Caesars Arena 0 3–12 16 January 23 Philadelphia L 110–114 Wayne Ellington (17) Jerami Grant (9) Delon Wright (6) Little Caesars Arena 0 3–13 17 January 25 Philadelphia W 119–104 Delon Wright (28) Mason Plumlee (10) Delon Wright (9) Little Caesars Arena 0 4–13 18 January 27 @ Cleveland L 107–122 Jerami Grant (26) Mason Plumlee (12) Delon Wright (7) Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 1,944 4–14 19 January 28 L. A. Lakers W 107–92 Blake Griffin (23) Mason Plumlee (10) Grant, Griffin & Wright (6) Little Caesars Arena 0 5–14 20 January 30 @ Golden State L 91–118 Jerami Grant (18) Jackson & Wright (6) Delon Wright (4) Chase Center 0 5–15
February : 4–10 (home: 2–3; road: 2–7) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record — February 1 @ Denver Postponed due to COVID-19 (makeup date: April 6)[9] 21 February 2 @ Utah L 105–117 Jerami Grant (27) Mason Plumlee (14) Jerami Grant (4) Vivint Arena 3,902 5–16 22 February 5 @ Phoenix L 92–109 Jerami Grant (21) Isaiah Stewart (10) Delon Wright (6) Phoenix Suns Arena 0 5–17 23 February 6 @ L. A. Lakers L 129–135 (2OT) Jerami Grant (32) Mason Plumlee (8) Delon Wright (10) Staples Center 0 5–18 24 February 9 Brooklyn W 122–111 Jerami Grant (32) Mason Plumlee (12) Delon Wright (9) Little Caesars Arena 0 6–18 25 February 11 Indiana L 95–111 Josh Jackson (18) Josh Jackson (8) Blake Griffin (6) Little Caesars Arena 0 6–19 26 February 12 @ Boston W 108–102 Saddiq Bey (30) Saddiq Bey (12) Delon Wright (7) TD Garden 0 7–19 27 February 14 New Orleans W 123–112 Josh Jackson (21) Mason Plumlee (10) Mason Plumlee (10) Little Caesars Arena 0 8–19 — February 16 San Antonio Postponed due to COVID-19 (makeup date: March 15)[10] — February 17 @ Dallas Postponed due to winter storm (makeup date: April 21)[11] 28 February 17 @ Chicago L 102–105 Jerami Grant (43) Mason Plumlee (8) Delon Wright (4) United Center 0 8–20 29 February 19 @ Memphis L 95–109 Grant & Wright (16) Mason Plumlee (15) Mason Plumlee (6) FedExForum 1,795 8–21 30 February 21 @ Orlando L 96–105 Jerami Grant (24) Josh Jackson (10) Saben Lee (5) Amway Center 4,002 8–22 31 February 23 @ Orlando W 105–93 Saben Lee (21) Mason Plumlee (12) Jerami Grant (6) Amway Center 3,631 9–22 32 February 24 @ New Orleans L 118–128 Josh Jackson (25) Isaiah Stewart (10) Plumlee & Smith Jr. (7) Smoothie King Center 2,700 9–23 33 February 26 Sacramento L 107–110 Jerami Grant (30) Isaiah Stewart (11) Plumlee & Smith Jr. (6) Little Caesars Arena 0 9–24 34 February 28 New York L 90–109 Jerami Grant (21) Isaiah Stewart (10) Saben Lee (4) Little Caesars Arena 0 9–25
March : 4–9 (home: 2–4; road: 2–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record — March 2 @ Toronto Postponed due to COVID-19 (makeup date: March 3)[12] 35 March 3 @ Toronto W 129–105 Wayne Ellington (25) Dennis Smith Jr. (12) Dennis Smith Jr. (11) Amalie Arena 0 10–25 36 March 4 @ New York L 104–114 Wayne Ellington (17) Mason Plumlee (13) Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (5) Madison Square Garden 1,981 10–26 All-Star Break 37 March 11 @ Charlotte L 102–105 Jerami Grant (32) Grant, Plumlee & Stewart (8) Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (8) Spectrum Center 0 10–27 38 March 13 @ Brooklyn L 95–100 Jerami Grant (22) Mason Plumlee (9) Mason Plumlee (6) Barclays Center 1,364 10–28 39 March 15 San Antonio L 99–109 Josh Jackson (15) Mason Plumlee (12) Delon Wright (8) Little Caesars Arena 0 10–29 40 March 17 Toronto W 116–112 Saddiq Bey (28) Mason Plumlee (14) Delon Wright (8) Little Caesars Arena 750 11–29 41 March 19 @ Houston W 113–100 Frank Jackson (23) Mason Plumlee (16) Delon Wright (8) Toyota Center 3,061 12–29 42 March 21 Chicago L 86–100 Jerami Grant (26) Mason Plumlee (10) Dennis Smith Jr. (5) Little Caesars Arena 750 12–30 43 March 24 @ Indiana L 111–116 Jerami Grant (29) Mason Plumlee (10) Jackson & Smith Jr. (5) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 0 12–31 44 March 26 Brooklyn L 111–113 Jerami Grant (19) Mason Plumlee (10) Mason Plumlee (5) Little Caesars Arena 750 12–32 45 March 27 @ Washington L 92–106 Wayne Ellington (15) Plumlee & Stewart (8) Cory Joseph (4) Capital One Arena 0 12–33 46 March 29 Toronto W 118–104 Bey, Lee & Diallo (19) Hamidou Diallo (10) Lee & Joseph (5) Little Caesars Arena 750 13–33 47 March 31 Portland L 101–124 Jerami Grant (30) Hamidou Diallo (7) Cory Joseph (9) Little Caesars Arena 750 13–34
April : 6–10 (home: 4–3; road: 2–7) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 48 April 1 Washington W 120–91 Josh Jackson (31) Mason Plumlee (11) Plumlee & Joseph (7) Little Caesars Arena 750 14–34 49 April 3 New York L 81–125 Jerami Grant (16) Mason Plumlee (10) Jackson, Lee & Hayes (3) Little Caesars Arena 750 14–35 50 April 5 @ Oklahoma City W 132–108 Jerami Grant (21) Hamidou Diallo (8) Killian Hayes (7) Chesapeake Energy Arena 0 15–35 51 April 6 @ Denver L 119–134 Jerami Grant (29) Isaiah Stewart (8) Saben Lee (7) Ball Arena 3,556 15–36 52 April 8 @ Sacramento W 113–101 Cory Joseph (24) Isaiah Stewart (13) Cory Joseph (7) Golden 1 Center 0 16–36 53 April 10 @ Portland L 103–118 Josh Jackson (21) Bey & Plumlee (6) Cory Joseph (8) Moda Center 0 16–37 54 April 11 @ L. A. Clippers L 124–131 Josh Jackson (26) Isaiah Stewart (6) Cory Joseph (13) Staples Center 0 16–38 55 April 14 L. A. Clippers L 98–100 Jerami Grant (28) Mason Plumlee (9) Killian Hayes (6) Little Caesars Arena 750 16–39 56 April 16 Oklahoma City W 110–104 Josh Jackson (29) Isaiah Stewart (21) Killian Hayes (7) Little Caesars Arena 750 17–39 57 April 17 @ Washington L 100–121 Stewart & Jackson (19) Isaiah Stewart (12) Grant & Lee (4) Capital One Arena 0 17–40 58 April 19 Cleveland W 109–105 Bey & Jackson (20) Isaiah Stewart (16) Killian Hayes (9) Little Caesars Arena 750 18–40 59 April 21 @ Dallas L 117–127 Jerami Grant (26) Mason Plumlee (16) Mason Plumlee (7) American Airlines Center 4,043 18–41 60 April 22 @ San Antonio L 91–106 Josh Jackson (29) Isaiah Stewart (13) Killian Hayes (5) AT&T Center 3,334 18–42 61 April 24 @ Indiana L 109–115 Jerami Grant (25) Mason Plumlee (21) Hayes & Plumlee (5) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 0 18–43 62 April 26 Atlanta W 100–86 Grant & Jackson (18) Isaiah Stewart (11) Killian Hayes (5) Little Caesars Arena 750 19–43 63 April 29 Dallas L 105–115 Stewart & Jackson (20) Stewart & Diallo (10) Killian Hayes (11) Little Caesars Arena 750 19–44
May : 1–8 (home: 1–6; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 64 May 1 @ Charlotte L 97–104 Frank Jackson (25) Bey, Cook & Jackson (7) Saben Lee (7) Spectrum Center 3,766 19–45 65 May 3 Orlando L 112–119 Saddiq Bey (26) Saddiq Bey (9) Hayes & Lee (7) Little Caesars Arena 750 19–46 66 May 4 Charlotte L 99–102 Hamidou Diallo (35) Saddiq Bey (9) Killian Hayes (7) Little Caesars Arena 750 19–47 67 May 6 Memphis W 111–97 Joseph & Ellington (18) Isaiah Stewart (7) Cory Joseph (11) Little Caesars Arena 750 20–47 68 May 8 @ Philadelphia L 104–118 Bey & Grant (14) Saddiq Bey (7) Killian Hayes (6) Wells Fargo Center 5,119 20–48 69 May 9 Chicago L 96–108 Killian Hayes (21) Bey, Stewart & Hayes (7) Killian Hayes (8) Little Caesars Arena 750 20–49 70 May 11 Minnesota L 100–119 Saben Lee (22) Doumbouya & Stewart (8) Killian Hayes (7) Little Caesars Arena 750 20–50 71 May 14 Denver L 91–104 Hamidou Diallo (18) Hamidou Diallo (12) Jackson & Hayes (7) Little Caesars Arena 750 20–51 72 May 16 Miami L 107–120 Saddiq Bey (22) Tyler Cook (9) Saben Lee (7) Little Caesars Arena 750 20–52
2020–21 season schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Regular season

Detroit Pistons statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Saddiq Bey	70	53	27.3	.404	.380	.844	4.5	1.4	.7	.2	12.2
Isaiah Stewart	68	14	21.4	.553	.333	.696	6.7	.9	.6	1.3	7.9
Josh Jackson	62	25	25.2	.419	.300	.729	4.1	2.3	.9	.8	13.4
Mason Plumlee	56	56	26.8	.614	.000	.669	9.3	3.6	.8	.9	10.4
Sekou Doumbouya	56	11	15.5	.379	.226	.703	2.6	.8	.4	.2	5.1
Jerami Grant	54	54	33.9	.429	.350	.845	4.6	2.8	.6	1.1	22.3
Saben Lee	48	7	16.3	.471	.348	.685	2.0	3.6	.7	.3	5.6
Wayne Ellington	46	31	22.0	.441	.422	.800	1.8	1.5	.4	.2	9.6
Frank Jackson	40	6	18.5	.457	.407	.813	2.2	.9	.4	.0	9.8
Delon Wright†	36	31	29.2	.464	.348	.789	4.6	5.0	1.6	.5	10.4
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk†	36	5	17.6	.377	.333	.800	2.1	1.6	.8	.2	6.9
Tyler Cook†	28	1	15.0	.680	.500	.486	3.3	.5	.3	.1	5.5
Jahlil Okafor	27	2	12.9	.618	.222	.708	2.4	.5	.2	.2	5.4
Killian Hayes	26	18	25.8	.353	.278	.824	2.7	5.3	1.0	.4	6.8
Blake Griffin†	20	20	31.3	.365	.315	.710	5.2	3.9	.7	.1	12.3
Dennis Smith Jr.†	20	9	19.6	.415	.352	.700	2.7	3.7	1.0	.7	7.3
Hamidou Diallo†	20	4	23.3	.468	.390	.662	5.4	1.2	.5	.6	11.2
Deividas Sirvydis	20	0	6.7	.350	.357	.500	1.5	.3	.1	.0	2.1
Cory Joseph†	19	11	26.4	.506	.368	.878	3.2	5.5	1.2	.5	12.0
Rodney McGruder	16	2	12.1	.529	.458	.750	1.4	1.0	.5	.1	5.7
Derrick Rose†	15	0	22.8	.429	.333	.840	1.9	4.2	1.2	.3	14.2

• ^† Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Pistons only.

Transactions

Main article: List of 2020–21 NBA season transactions

Overview

Players Added Via draft Killian Hayes Via trade Trevor Ariza Saddiq Bey Tony Bradley Dewayne Dedmon Hamidou Diallo Jerami Grant Jaylen Hands Cory Joseph Saben Lee Rodney McGruder Džanan Musa Nikola Radičević Dennis Smith Jr. Zhaire Smith Isaiah Stewart Delon Wright Via free agency LiAngelo Ball Tyler Cook Wayne Ellington Frank Jackson Josh Jackson Anthony Lamb Jahlil Okafor Mason Plumlee Deividas Sirvydis

Players Lost Via trade Trevor Ariza Tony Bradley Bruce Brown Luke Kennard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk Justin Patton Derrick Rose Tony Snell Khyri Thomas Christian Wood Delon Wright Via free agency Jordan Bone Langston Galloway John Henson Brandon Knight Thon Maker Jordan McRae Waived LiAngelo Ball Dewayne Dedmon Blake Griffin Louis King Anthony Lamb Džanan Musa Zhaire Smith

Trades

November 19, 2020[5]	Three-team trade
	To Brooklyn Nets Bruce Brown (from Detroit) Landry Shamet (from Los Angeles) Draft rights to Reggie Perry (from Los Angeles)	To Los Angeles Clippers Luke Kennard (from Detroit) Justin Patton (from Detroit) Draft rights to Jay Scrubb (from Brooklyn) 2023 second round draft pick (from Portland via Detroit) 2024 second round draft pick (from Detroit) 2025 second round draft pick (from Detroit) 2026 second round draft pick (from Detroit)
	To Detroit Pistons Rodney McGruder (from Los Angeles) Džanan Musa (from Brooklyn) Draft rights to Saddiq Bey (from Brooklyn) Draft rights to Jaylen Hands (from Brooklyn) 2021 second round draft pick (from Toronto via Brooklyn) Cash considerations
November 20, 2020[13]	To Detroit Pistons Dewayne Dedmon	To Atlanta Hawks Tony Snell Khyri Thomas
November 22, 2020[6]	To Detroit Pistons Tony Bradley Draft rights to Saben Lee	To Utah Jazz Cash considerations
November 22, 2020[14]	To Detroit Pistons Jerami Grant Draft rights to Nikola Radičević	To Denver Nuggets Cash considerations
November 23, 2020[15]	To Detroit Pistons Zhaire Smith	To Philadelphia 76ers Tony Bradley
November 24, 2020[7]	To Detroit Pistons Trevor Ariza Draft rights to Isaiah Stewart Future second round draft pick Cash considerations	To Houston Rockets Christian Wood 2021 second round pick Protected future first round pick
November 27, 2020[16][17]	Three-team trade
	To Dallas Mavericks James Johnson (from Oklahoma City)	To Oklahoma City Thunder Trevor Ariza (from Detroit) Justin Jackson (from Dallas) 2023 second round draft pick (from Dallas or Miami) 2026 second round draft pick (from Dallas)
	To Detroit Pistons Delon Wright (from Dallas)
February 8, 2021[18]	To Detroit Pistons Dennis Smith Jr. 2021 second round draft pick (from Charlotte via New York)	To New York Knicks Derrick Rose
March 13, 2021[19]	To Detroit Pistons Hamidou Diallo	To Oklahoma City Thunder Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk Future second round pick
March 26, 2021[20][21]	To Detroit Pistons Cory Joseph 2021 second round draft pick (from Los Angeles via Sacramento) 2024 second round draft pick (from Sacramento)	To Sacramento Kings Delon Wright

Free agency

Re-signed

Date	Player	Contract terms	Ref.
December 2	Louis King	Two-way contract	[22]

Additions

Date	Player	Contract terms	Former team	Ref.
December 1	Josh Jackson	2-year contract worth $9.77 million	Memphis Grizzlies	[23]
	Jahlil Okafor	2-year contract worth $4.01 million	New Orleans Pelicans
	Mason Plumlee	3-year contract worth $24.66 million	Denver Nuggets
	Deividas Sirvydis	3-year contract worth $4.2 million	Hapoel Jerusalem
December 2	Wayne Ellington	1-year contract worth $2.56 million	New York Knicks	[24]
December 3	LiAngelo Ball	Exhibit 10 contract	Oklahoma City Blue	[25]
	Anthony Lamb	Exhibit 10 contract	Vermont Catamounts
December 27	Frank Jackson	Two-way contract	New Orleans Pelicans	[26]
March 19	Tyler Cook	10-day contract	Brooklyn Nets	[27]

Subtractions

Date	Player	Reason	New team	Ref.
November 20	Brandon Knight	Unrestricted free agent		[28][29]
November 24	Dewayne Dedmon	Waived	Miami Heat	[30][31]
November 27	Jordan Bone	Unrestricted free agent	Orlando Magic	[32]
November 30	Langston Galloway	Unrestricted free agent	Phoenix Suns	[33]
	Thon Maker	Unrestricted free agent	Cleveland Cavaliers	[34]
	Zhaire Smith	Waived	Memphis Hustle	[35][36]
December 14	LiAngelo Ball	Waived		[37][38][39]
	Louis King		New York Knicks
	Anthony Lamb		Canton Charge
December 20	Džanan Musa	Waived	Anadolu Efes	[40][41]
December 27	Jordan McRae	Unrestricted free agent	Beijing Ducks	[42]
March 5	Blake Griffin	Waived	Brooklyn Nets	[43][44]
April 5	John Henson	Unrestricted free agent	New York Knicks	[45]

Notes

1. Formerly Fox Sports Detroit until March 31, 2021.