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Former Michigan guard Caris LeVert signs lucrative contract with Detroit Pistons

clayton-sayfieby: Clayton Sayfie07/01/25CSayf23
Caris LeVert
Former Michigan Wolverines basketball guard Caris LeVert was named second-team All-Big Ten in 2014. (Photo by Dale Zanine-Imagn Images)

Former Michigan Wolverines basketball guard Caris LeVert is on the move again, set to play for his fifth team in 10 seasons. The 6-foot-6, 205-pounder reportedly signed a two-year, $29 million deal with the Detroit Pistons, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

This is LeVert’s third team in the last year. He began last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference but lost in the first round to the Indiana Pacers, and was traded to the Atlanta Hawks ahead of the February trade deadline.

LeVert has played for the Brooklyn Nets (2016-21), Indiana Pacers (2020-22), Cleveland Cavaliers (2021-25) and Atlanta Hawks (2025), after being drafted No. 20 overall in the first round in 2016. He’s one of Michigan’s 12 first-round draft picks since 2013.

Ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, LeVert inked a two-year, $32 million deal with the Cavaliers, following a three-year, $52.5 million rookie extension that was negotiated with the Nets.

The 30-year-old, born Aug. 25, 1994, averaged 14.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 26.6 minutes per game with 26 appearances for the Hawks. He shot 48.2 percent from the field, including 33.8 percent from three-point range.

LeVert was a big part of the Cavaliers’ success before being traded, registering 10.2 points, 3.7 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 23.8 minutes per game in 38 contests with three starts. He connected on 40.5 percent of his three-point attempts during that portion of the season.

Like the rest of the NBA, Detroit has some moves to make in free agency. The Pistons have the chance to re-sign former Michigan guard Tim Hardaway Jr., a teammate of LeVert’s on the 2012-13 Wolverine team that made a run to the national championship game and lost to Louisville in controversial fashion.

The Pistons were in talks on a deal with guard Malik Beasley, but those are on pause now that he’s under investigation as a result of gambling irregularities. The Pistons also saw backup point Dennis Schroder — a midseason acquisition last year — sign with the Sacramento Kings.Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey are two young guards who look like the future of the franchise’s back court.

The Pickerington, Ohio, native spent five seasons at Michigan after being a late addition to the star-studded 2012 recruiting class that also included Nik Stauskas, Mitch McGary, Spike Albrecht and Glenn Robinson III.

LeVert played in 103 games at Michigan, finishing his career with 98 wins (including time he missed due to injury). He was named second-team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media as a sophomore in 2014, averaging 12.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per contest. He missed significant time with foot injuries in his third and fourth seasons in Ann Arbor.

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