Thon Maker. Contract status: Restricted …

Thon Maker. Contract status: Restricted free agent this summer (qualifying offer: $4,861,854). Odds he returns: 50 percent. Analysis: Maker is all heart and hustle, and I believe that will keep him around the NBA for some years. As far as skills go, I don’t think he does anything particularly well, but he’s only 23 and has shown flashes of being a decent spot-up shooter from distance. I thought he was starting to figure out how to use his length and long arms more to his benefit this season, and I think he has a role as a bench player for some years. I don’t think, though, there’s any way the Pistons give him his qualifying offer, even with cap space to use and a rebuild ahead, which will make him an unrestricted free agent. I don’t see Maker being high on other teams’ free-agency boards. If he comes back to Detroit, it’ll be for less than $4 million a year.