Pistons Lose Tim Hardaway Jr. to Surprise West Team in Free Agency

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Nathaniel Holloway | Last updated Jul 1, 2025 6:15 PM ET

It has not been the start to the offseason that the Detroit Pistons had been hoping for as they have already lost multiple players in free agency.

Of course, the Pistons entered the offseason with many players on their roster set to be unrestricted free agents, including Tim Hardaway Jr., Malik Beasley, Dennis Schroder and Paul Reed.

Detroit was able to re-sign Reed to a new two-year contract but they then lost Schroder to the Sacramento Kings for nothing in return despite reports that they were trying to land Malik Monk from Sacramento in a potential sign-and-trade deal.

The Pistons have also closed talks about a potential comeback for Beasley as he is being investigated due to allegations involving gambling on NBA games.

That left Hardaway Jr. as the lone free agent left for the Pistons to bring back and that would not be the case as he joined a surprise Western Conference team on Tuesday.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Hardway Jr. has agreed to sign a one-year contract with the Denver Nuggets.

Free agent sharpshooter Tim Hardaway Jr. has agreed to a one-year deal with the Denver Nuggets, sources tell ESPN. Hardaway had a strong season for the Pistons' resurgent 2024-25 campaign and now Denver officials finalize a deal with Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports. pic.twitter.com/XUaslGumBf
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2025

This is a massive move by the Nuggets as their busy offseason continues as they now add a sharpshooter to their second unit to upgrade their depth.

For the Pistons, this is a massive loss as Hardaway Jr. played a key role for them as started 77 games for them and helped them end their playoff drought.

Last season, the 33-year-old guard averaged 11.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 40.6% from the field and 36.8% from three-point range.

The good news for the Pistons is that they were able to sign Caris LeVert to a deal on Monday but they have now lost two key players from last year’s team and with Beasley being investigated, they may elect to let him walk as well.

Despite this, Detroit does still have many options on the free agent market but they need to make some moves to keep pace with other teams in the Eastern Conference during the summer.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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