What happened to the Detroit Pistons? Many thought this was a team on the rise. Is this a slump? Or is this who the Pistons are? More importantly what needs to be done?
There are more questions than answers when it comes to the Detroit Pistons these days. Was last season’s playoff appearance and 50+ win pace with the addition of Tobias Harris a mirage?
Or, is this a weird funk the team is going through due to the infusion of talent this offseason and the return of Reggie Jackson from injury?
The unique thing about determining who the Pistons are and what needs to happen next is how vastly different the aforementioned questions–and in turn, answers–are.
Basically we are trying to determine if the Pistons are a team on the fringe of being elite–a scary thought considering the youth of the team–or a team filled with pieces that don’t mesh and in turn needs to be dismantled.
Quite honestly, I’ve never seen a team like this. I mean never.
So how do you fix the Detroit Pistons? First you have to identify who the Pistons are, which as we’ve illustrated so far, is difficult to do.
What we can definitively say about the Pistons is that they are a bad team right now. They are a talented yet ill-fitting team that cares more about individual accolades than sacrificing for the betterment of the team.
That, again, is vastly different from the Pistons’ team from a season ago.
Van Gundy could continue to ride the ups and downs of this team. That is the most sensible thing to do right now as we aren’t even half way into the season yet.
It’s even more sensible when considering the team’s massive identity shift at point guard–the most essential position in any Van Gundy offense–from pass first Ish Smith to score first Reggie Jackson.
But waiting too long to make a move could be a mistake too. At some point Van Gundy has to accept what this team is, and I wouldn’t wait much longer than 10 games.
One thing that is evident to me is that there are too many players on the roster who think they need to be the star of the show.
If this roster doesn’t start showing a pulse in the next 10 games I would start looking to move pieces.
The Pistons have a nice thing going between Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond. The Pistons’ can build around those two.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Tobias Harris have been very selfless and consistent contributors. Whether you increase their roles or not they are good fit with the team. Jon Leuer and Ish Smith are solid contributors that also have a defined role with the team and would be good fits in secondary roles.
Every player not listed above, I would look into moving if the return was a future asset or a player who could help the Pistons win now, assuming Van Gundy still thinks he can win with the team.
If the next 10 games are hopelessly bad, than perhaps that list grows to everyone short of Drummond.
I’ll close by saying this. I think there is a cancer on the team that is really holding it back. Remember how improved the Pistons were when they waived Josh Smith a few years ago? One cancerous player in the locker room can make all the difference.
It’s hard to pin down who that cancer is, but by removing that one player, perhaps the Pistons would find their 50+ win form from a season ago.
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