As has been widely speculated since his arrival, the Pistons announced Monday afternoon that they have waived forward Danny Granger.
Roster update: The #Pistons have waived forward Danny Granger.
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) October 26, 2015
The 32-year-old Granger, acquired from Phoenix alongside Marcus Morris and Reggie Bullock in July, was absent from training camp and never appeared in a Pistons uniform, opting instead to remain in Phoenix to continue rehabilitation on a plantar fasciitis injury on his left foot.
Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Granger still needs approximately one month of rehab before he’s ready to return to action for an NBA team.
An NBA All-Star at his peak, Granger’s production has declined steeply since suffering from a rash of knee issues beginning in 2012. Once capable of averaging 26 points a night for the duration of an NBA season, Granger averaged just 6.3 points per game for the Miami Heat in 2014-15.
The release of Granger means the Pistons have officially trimmed down their 20-man training camp roster to the league-mandated 15 just in time for Tuesday’s opener in Atlanta. Jordan Bachynski, Adonis Thomas, and Cartier Martin were all released last Friday while Eric Griffin was let go earlier in the preseason.
The Pistons likely would have preferred to unload Granger via trade as a money saving venture. Instead, Detroit will eat Granger’s $2.1 million salary for the 2015-16 season. The Pistons are similarly on the hook for Martin’s $1.3 million. Those deals, combined with Josh Smith’s salary (the Pistons still owe Smith $5.4 million each year until 2020), means Detroit will be dishing out close to $9 million this season to three players no longer on the team.
Detroit Pistons 2015-16 Opening Night Roster
| # | Name | Pos. | Age | Ht. | Wt. | College | 15-16 Salary |
| 50 | Joel Anthony | C | 33 | 6-9 | 245 | UNLV | $2,500,000 |
| 12 | Aron Baynes | PF | 28 | 6-10 | 260 | Washington State | $6,500,000 |
| 22 | Steve Blake | PG | 35 | 6-3 | 172 | Maryland | $2,170,465 |
| 25 | Reggie Bullock | SF | 24 | 6-7 | 205 | North Carolina | $1,252,440 |
| 5 | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | SG | 22 | 6-5 | 205 | Georgia | $2,891,760 |
| 8 | Spencer Dinwiddie | PG | 22 | 6-6 | 200 | Colorado | $845,059 |
| Andre Drummond | C | 22 | 6-11 | 279 | Connecticut | $3,272,091 | |
| 6 | Darrun Hilliard II | SF | 22 | 6-6 | 205 | Villanova | $600,000 |
| 23 | Ersan Ilyasova | PF | 28 | 6-10 | 235 | Turkey | $7,900,000 |
| 1 | Reggie Jackson | PG | 25 | 6-3 | 208 | Boston College | $13,913,044 |
| 7 | Brandon Jennings | PG | 26 | 6-1 | 169 | Oak Hill Academy | $8,344,497 |
| 3 | Stanley Johnson | SF | 19 | 6-7 | 245 | Arizona | $2,841,960 |
| 20 | Jodie Meeks | SG | 28 | 6-4 | 210 | Kentucky | $6,270,000 |
| 13 | Marcus Morris | PF | 26 | 6-9 | 235 | Kansas | $5,000,000 |
| 43 | Anthony Tolliver | PF | 30 | 6-8 | 240 | Creighton | $3,000,000 |
