Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images Reed had a non-guaranteed deal for this season and next The B-ball Paul era was a brief one for the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons are opting to waive third-string center Paul Reed, according to Shams Charania of ESPN. Reed had a unique Philly Special contract — his $7.7 million deal was fully non-guaranteed this season until Jan. 10. Reed also had a fully non-guaranteed deal for next season for 8.1 million. The move is a puzzling one for the Pistons. Reed’s non-guaranteed structure and his status as a dependable backup big man would have seemingly made him an attractive trade chip as the NBA trade deadline approached. That was the apparent motivating factor for the Pistons picking Reed up off of waivers before the season began. With several veteran teams negotiating the luxury tax and punitive second apron, it was a chance for those squads to trade for and immediately waive Reed. Conversely, a team looking for big man help (and there are always a couple), could have traded for the player, with his $7.7 million salary easy enough to fit into several trade structures. But none of that is happening. This immediately makes me think a few things and any or all of these could be true. The Pistons scanned the landscape and determined the trade market wouldn’t really be there for Reed’s services. Perhaps they have a definitive plan to use Ausar Thompson in more of a big-man role and didn’t want a discontented Reed falling further down the depth chart. Alternatively, this could be a classic “do right by the player move,” which the Pistons have been fond of for seemingly the entirety of their past 15 years of irrelevance. Maybe Reed wanted out to catch on with a playoff team and/or secure some definitive playing time, and the Pistons said OK. Whatever the scenario, this makes me think that the Pistons have no intention of moving on from their young core of big men — starter Jalen Duren or reserve Isaiah Stewart. Reed always seemed like an incredibly safe backup plan if the franchise decided to part ways with one or both of Duren or Stewart. Now, the Pistons have no third-string center and two open roster spots. Detroit entered the season with about $10.2 million in unused cap space and now adds the pro-rated portion of the money they will no longer be paying Reed. What are their plans with that money? Who knows. Sham’s report indicates the “move was made to give Detroit roster and salary flexibility with the NBA trade deadline less than two months away.” Again, considering the structure of Reed’s deal, I’m not sure how this creates any additional flexibility. But I’m sure Reed will catch on with someone quickly, and that team is likely to play him more than the 10 minutes per game in 12 total games that he saw with Detroit.