STEVE BLAKE
AGE: 36
NBA EXPERIENCE: 13 seasons
BECAME A PISTON: The Pistons traded Quincy Miller to the Brooklyn Nets on July 13, 2015.
CAREER MILESTONES: Blake has changed teams nine times – not counting Brooklyn, for which he never played between stops in Portland and Detroit – and has had three separate tours of duty in Portland, where he makes his off-season home. Blake, a junior at Maryland when the Terrapins won the 2002 NCAA championship by defeating Indiana, was selected 38th overall by Washington in the 2003 NBA draft. He’s been a bench player and part-time starter for most of his NBA career, but was a two-year starter for Portland in his fifth and sixth NBA seasons.
CAREER ARC: Blake was acquired by the Pistons to serve as Reggie Jackson’s backup for however long it took Brandon Jennings to complete his rehabilitation from Achilles tendon surgery for an injury suffered in January 2015. Blake suffered a concussion on the second day of training camp last fall and missed all but the final preseason game, which caused a slow start to his regular season. But his play stabilized to the point that the Pistons felt comfortable trading Jennings in February and re-installing Blake as Jackson’s backup.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: In their first game after a four-overtime win at Chicago last December, the Pistons started sluggishly at Miami on Dec. 22, trailing 40-22 two minutes into the second quarter. But Blake led a bench unit that sparked a remarkable comeback to put the Pistons ahead by two points at halftime. They would go on to win the game 93-92. Blake hit 4 of 5 3-point shots for 12 points and committed just one turnover in 17 minutes. Over an 11-game span after going back into the lineup following the trade of Jennings, Blake hit 13 of 27 from the 3-point arc and helped spark a big win over Toronto with 10 points and five assists.
2016-17 ROLE: Blake is headed to free agency and given his age, 36, the Pistons and other teams might be hesitant to commit to him as a No. 2 point guard. But he’ll appeal to several teams as a No. 3 point guard for his steadiness, his ability to sit for long stretches and be ready should injury strike and his widely acknowledged leadership qualities. In the NBA.com annual survey of general managers last fall, Blake finished second as mostly likely player to become a successful head coach.
CONTRACT STATUS: Blake’s contract expired after the season. He will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1.