The Pistons have reached a four-year, $64M rookie scale extension agreement with big man Isaiah Stewart, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
The contract averages out to $15M per year with $4M in performance bonuses that could increase the value to the $64M figure, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press tweets. The fourth year will be a team option, he adds.
Stewart, 22, has played power forward and center during his three seasons with Detroit. He was acquired in a draft-day trade and selected with the No. 16 overall pick in 2020. He was part of the first rookie class drafted by current GM Troy Weaver.
Stewart was limited to 50 games last season due to a left shoulder impingement. He didn’t play after Feb. 25 but did post a career-high 11.3 points per game before he was sidelined. Stewart also averaged 8.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists while trying to develop his outside game. He took an average of 4.1 three-pointers per game and made 32.7% of his attempts.
Stewart is noted for his toughness and tenacity. The Pistons reportedly fielded numerous calls regarding Stewart’s availability this offseason. Stewart’s defensive versatility and improving perimeter game intrigued many teams around the league but Detroit was intent on keeping him.
With Jalen Duren and James Wiseman likely to share minutes at center, Isaiah Stewart slots in at power forward under the current Pistons roster. He’ll battle for playing time with Marvin Bagley and Isaiah Livers unless Weaver makes a trade.
It’s the first rookie scale extension the Pistons have agreed to since Tom Gores became the franchise’s owner in 2011. Andre Drummond signed an extension back in 2016 but he was a restricted free agent at the time.
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