A new fans guide to the Detroit Pistons.
Taking a quick break from season recaps since I don’t really want to write about Kevin Knox to be honest.
This post is from a recommendation from Reddit user u/hungrytiredandbored who suggested that some sort of recap of recent Pistons history would be a nice thing so here we go. Most readers of this space probably do not require this but hopefully, we have plenty of new/returning fans this season so this can serve as a decent reference point for people.
Where does the relevant history start?
Probably the 2019-2020 season. Coming off a year where the team went 41-41 in Dwane Casey’s first season as head coach (following the firing of Stan Van Gundy). The team entered the season with some optimism.
The previous season saw the team go 41-41 and get swept in the first round by the Bucks, but the was real reason to hope for some improvement. Blake Griffin made 3rd team All-NBA and the teams trio of Reggie Jackson, Blake Griffin, and Andre Drummond had all been really good and the team had been good when the shared the floor. The team was sunk by possibly the worst wing rotation of any team trying to win games that season and the fact that Griffin broke down at the end of the season and played that playoff series on one leg. If he doesn’t get hur they are probably not the 8 seed and at least put a scare into whoever they play.
Sounds like you shoulda started with the 2018-2019 season
shush.
Regardless, there was reason to expect that with some improved wing play and another season of their three best players gelling together they could make some real noise. They drafted Sekou Doumbouya, Luke Kennard was a year older, they traded for Tony Snell, they signed Derrick Rose. No one exactly had any illusions about the team contending but it wasn’t insane to hope for like, 45 wins and possibly win a playoff series.
That optimism didn’t last long. The year from hell was upon them immediately.
Blake Griffin wasn’t recovered from his previous seasons injury and didn’t play at the start of the season and was clearly not right. He played in just 18 games in and out of the lineup with his injury. Reggie Jackson joined him by getting hurt in the second game of the season and wouldn’t return until the there was no hope of salvaging the season. Luke Kennard was also hit with the injury bug and played just 28 games.
The Pistons won just 3 of their first 14 games, Derrick Rose and Andre Drummond made valiant (and at times very sad) attempts to drag the team up but to no avail. By the time the trade deadline approached it was clear that this team had run its course and the rebuild began in earnest.
Andre Drummond was traded for a bag of chips, Reggie Jackson was released, Derrick Rose stopped playing because he was “hurt”, and the Pistons fully embraced the tank. That season ended up being cut short by COVID, which ironically probably set the Pistons rebuild back quite a bit. They had the 9th worst record in the league but had they played out the whole season they likely would’ve gotten a higher pick. (they went just 1-8 with a comical point-spread after the all-star break.)
The rebuild was on, that Summer the Pistons hired Troy Weaver and we began the current era of Pistons basketball.
Weaver arrived and immediately decided he did not like what he saw as he effectively began a complete cull of the team. Some of his early moves were good, like drafting Saddiq Bey with the 19th pick. Some of them were questionable but seem fine at this point, like punting on the talented Christian Wood in order to spend nearly $30million per year on Mason Plumlee and Jerami Grant. Some of them were outright inexcusable, like trading Bruce Brown for literally nothing.
Regardless of the results, the pathway was clear. A new Pistons team was born and the rebuild was in full swing. The Pistons rotation was set up with young players and reclamation projects.
The players that were still left over from the previous regime didn’t last long. Blake Griffin played for a couple of weeks before leaving the team and eventually getting bought out, Svi Mykhailiuk was traded for Hamidou Diallo, and Derrick Rose was traded to New York. The following Summer when the Pistons traded Sekou Doumbouya there were literally no players on the roster from before Weaver took the reigns.
The 2020-2021 season went largely to plan, the Pistons were bad, lost many games (going 20-52) but showed fight and spirit in those losses. Killian Hayes was hampered by injuries and looked awful when he did play which was a bummer, but Saddiq Bey was effective and Isaiah Stewart grew into a bigger role. Late-season reclamations like Frank Jackson looked viable.
Then the good thing happened.
Yes. That Summer the Pistons won the lottery and drafted Cade Cunningham.
Which brings us to last season.
Cade started off slow but found his footing quickly, there are some nerds who will tell you that he wasn’t efficient enough
You don’t really get to call anyone a nerd for using advanced stats my dude
No this was different. Cade clearly passed the eye test and once he got his footing the efficiency wasn’t that bad. For a extensive look at Cade’s rookie campaign read this piece I wrote about it:
The Pistons were once again bad, the vibes were not as good as last season featured more ugly losses which was entirely predictable but that’s ok. Cade looked awesome, they drafted Jaden Ivey, and things are positive. So that’s a basic overview of the last few years.
Is there anything more specific from the past few years that is worth knowing for someone who is tuning back in/tuning in for the first time?
Sure.
Part of the reason the Pistons didn’t have much choice but to enter a rebuild was because of Blake Griffin’s enormous salary being on the books. This is the first season they are not paying him. They did still have significant dead-money on the books this Summer from DeAndre Jordan, Dewayne Dedmon, and Kemba Walker. Other than the $2.8million they owe Dedmon that is all gone, meaning that this coming Summer will be the cleanest cap sheet the team has had in years. So if you’ve been itching for a big free-agent splash, that’s a big reason it hasn’t happened but it becomes a possibility next Summer.
On the cap-room, even though Kelly Olynyck, Alec Burks, and Nerlens Noel are all on the books for next season, they are either team options or non-guaranteed so that is an additional ~$32million they can free up if they need it. Not to mention some of the younger guys that they could let go if they really wanted.
The team is, by all accounts, happy with head coach Dwane Casey while the team rebuilds, but his contract is entering it’s last couple of seasons and there are strong rumblings that he may move into a front-office role and pass the title of coach onto someone else when the team decides it’s time to actually start winning. Perhaps more simply, no the team is not going to fire Casey because the team is losing, but there is also no long-term commitment to him to be the coach in a few years when they are done building.
Troy Weaver came to Detroit after spending years in Oklahoma City as Sam Presti’s right-hand man. He seems to have a clear preference for long, athletic, high-energy players which trends back to his time in OKC and has even brought a few of those guys to Detroit. Jerami Grant, Hamidou Diallo, and Nerlens Noel are all players who were in OKC.
This season is the 3rd year for Killian Hayes, Saddiq Bey, and Isaiah Stewart which means that as we get into the back-end of the season it will officially be time to worry about the status of their next contract.
On that note, no Pistons rookie has signed a second contract with the team since Andre Drummond.
If you see Saban Lee on an NBA court this season, I don’t know why he is here either.
What are the bigger picture narratives to know for the coming season.
In no particular order:
Cade making a big jump. He improved as the season went on, but its important for him to smooth out some edges in his game and show he is the real deal. Most people who paid close attention believe he will do so, but he does have to actually do it.
Saddiq Bey quietly regressed last season and no longer has free-reign on his position if he does so again this season.
Killian Hayes has shown flashes and has plenty of good excuses for being bad, but he has been very bad. If he doesn’t make marked improvements there’s a real chance he doesn’t survive to the end of his rookie deal.
Drafting Jalen Duren has opened up some uncomfortable questions about Isaiah Stewart’s future with the team as they both play center. The team is saying the right things about Stew being able to play the 4 but he will have to show ability there this season.
Everything about Jaden Ivey. If he hits his upside the Pistons have the foundational pieces they need.
Marvin Bagley got paid this Summer so for better or worse he is in the team’s plans. Conversely, Hamidou Diallo is the one younger player whose contract is up after this season so he will be important to monitor.
So that’s pretty much it. If anyone else has information they would find pertinent for a new/returning fan go ahead and say so in the comments.