AUBURN HILLS -- Coming off a 39-43 season, the Detroit Pistons have plenty of holes to fill in their roster.
They officially will address a couple of them with Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva expected to sign contracts today -- the first day free agents can agree to binding contracts. During last Wednesday's first day of free agency, Gordon agreed to a five-year deal worth at least $50 million. Shortly after Gordon's deal, Detroit came to terms on a five-year, $35 million deal with Villanueva.
Known primarily as scorers, both should benefit from the expected hiring of John Kuester as the Pistons' new coach.
Kuester, 54, whose contract has yet to be finalized, became the Pistons' primary target after Doug Collins pulled out of the running and negotiations with Avery Johnson fell through.
He will replace Michael Curry, who was fired last week.
Kuester, a Cleveland assistant last season, is credited for much of the Cavaliers' offensive success. Cleveland, which won a league-best 66 games this season, had one of the league's most efficient offenses -- and it wasn't all LeBron James.
With Kuester in charge of the offense, Cleveland ranked among the league's leaders in several offensive categories, including field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage.
He will have two potent offensive options in Gordon and Villanueva.
Gordon, 26, averaged a career-high 20.2 points this season.
Detroit had interest in him during the season, but it was the way he performed in the playoffs that cemented him as a player to target.
Against then-defending NBA champion Boston, Gordon averaged 24.3 points per game as Chicago hung around for seven games before the Celtics won 109-99 in Game 7. Gordon scored 33 points in the game.
The 6-foot-3 guard is expected to come off the bench behind Richard Hamilton, the Pistons' leading scorer since 2003.
Villanueva and the Milwaukee Bucks didn't make the playoffs, but the 6-11 forward did more than enough during the regular season to impress the Pistons' brass.
After spending the bulk of his career as a backup, injuries forced Villanueva into a more prominent role last season, which he seemed to handle well.
He responded with career highs in scoring (16.2 points) and rebounds (6.7) per game. One of his best games came in February when he had 33 points and seven rebounds against Detroit.
