Nerlens Noel agrees to buyout with Pistons before March 1 deadline, per report

Noel will now be free to sign with a new team

Nerlens Noel has agreed to a buyout with the Detroit Pistons, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The deadline for players to receive buyouts while retaining playoff eligibility after signing with a new team is March 1, so the Pistons and Noel were able to sneak this agreement in before that key date.

Noel, who had spent the last two seasons with the New York Knicks as a key rotational player, was dealt to Detroit in a salary cap dump over the summer that allowed the Knicks to create the cap space they needed to sign star point guard Jalen Brunson.

Noel played just 14 games for the Pistons this season. Detroit now has a number of former lottery picks in its frontcourt that need minutes. Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, picks that they themselves made, were already in place. They added Marvin Bagley at last season's trade deadline and signed him to a new four-year deal, and then traded for James Wiseman at the 2023 deadline. With those moves made, there simply wasn't a reason for the Pistons to keep Noel.

There are plenty of teams that could still use help at backup center. The Denver Nuggets have struggled during Nikola Jokic's bench minutes all season, and while they added Thomas Bryant at the deadline, Noel could provide a more defensive-minded alternative. His original team, the Philadelphia 76ers, have a similar problem whenever Joel Embiid rests.

Noel is only a reserve at this stage of his career, but he was a key component of one of the NBA's best defenses as recently as the 2020-21 season. In a smaller role on a contender, he is still capable of making a meaningful contribution. Now, he'll have a chance to go out and find such a team.