Detroit Pistons pick up team options for Alec Burks, Isaiah Livers
The Detroit Pistons have picked up team options for Alec Burks and Isaiah Livers for the 2023-24 season, league sources confirmed to the Free Press on Thursday.
They were expected moves, as both players fulfilled necessary wing duties for the team last season. Burks' team option is worth $10.5 million, while Livers will be on the books for $1.8 million before entering restricted free agency in 2024.
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Burks, 31, had a strong season as an off-the-bench scorer and averaged 12.8 points on 43.6% overall shooting and 41.4% shooting from 3. He was one of the NBA's most effective reserves and, assuming the Pistons don't include him in a trade this summer, will lift their bench unit once again next season.
The Pistons have been high on Livers since drafting him 42nd overall in 2021. The 6-foot-6 Michigan alumnus fills an important role as 3-and-D wing, and averaged 6.7 points while knocking down 36.5% of his 3-pointers this past season.
His first two seasons have been marred by injuries. Livers suffered a stress fracture in his right foot toward the end of his senior year of college, and it limited him to 19 games played as a rookie. But he knocked down 42.2% of his 64 3-point attempts in that span, and appeared in 52 games this past season.
General manager Troy Weaver identified Livers as one of Detroit's few versatile wing players during his end-of-season availability in April. Livers has another season ahead of him to further entrench himself as one of the team's core players before hitting restricted free agency in a year.
"I plan on taking the next step in my career and as a player next season and just come back, not completely different, but just elevated," Livers said in April. "That way, when asked upon I can execute what coach wants me to do on offense, and defensively I’m going to get it done. Definitely take that into the offseason and you come back just a better player."
ESPN initially reported Burks' option, and the Athletic broke the news on Livers.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons pick up team options for Isaiah Livers, Alec Burks
