Could Detroit be the favorites to land the eighth seed in the East?
Despite the continued improvement of Andre Drummond, disappointing is the only word that can accurately describe Detroit’s 2013-14 season—but with Stan Van Gundy at the helm and Andre Drummond continuing to rise, everything feels new and exciting in the Motor City.
Coaching – 25/25
Detroit head coach and President of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy has his work cut out for him, but the 21-year-old Drummond and a boatload of cash provided him with sufficient incentive to take the job. Van Gundy helped develop Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic into a title-contending team, and though it will be a while before the Pistons are in that echelon, the Drummond-Van Gundy pairing provides palpable hope for the future of the franchise.
Free Agency & Trades – 16/25
The Pistons gave up the fourth most points per game (104.7) and posted the second worst 3-point percentage (32.1) in the league. Detroit didn’t add anyone with a particularly impressive defensive resume, but Stan the Man did deliberately grab Jodie Meeks (three years, $18.8 million) and Cartier Martin (two years, veterans minimum, second year player option), and then dialed and filed deals with Caron Butler (two years, $9 million, second year unguaranteed), D.J. Augustin (two years, $6 million), and Aaron Gray (two years, veterans minimum, second year player option).
However, Greg Monroe remains unsigned, and even though reports surfaced that Monroe will take the qualifying offer ($5.5 million) and become an unrestricted free agent in 2015-16, until Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski or ESPN’s Marc Stein verify this it’s merely hearsay. Not signing Monroe to a long-term deal right now makes sense considering their current logjam down low, but if the Pistons were to move Josh Smith to say, Sacramento, then it’s possible Monroe could sign a longer-term deal with Detroit.
Draft – 20/25
The Pistons lost out on their first-round draft pick via a prior trade detailed here, but they’ve reportedly already agreed to terms with their second-round pick, Spencer Dinwiddie, on a three-year contract. The 6-6, 200 pound point guard is unlikely to see much time in his rookie year given that they already have Brandon Jennings, Augustin, and Will Bynum, but he had an exceptional college career. His size and strength combined with his proclivity to dish and swish give him a solid shot to excel in the NBA, and he may end up being a second-round steal.
Current Player Core – 14/25
Besides Josh Smith (three years, $40.5 million) and Jodie Meeks, Detroit doesn’t have anyone else who is guaranteed to be on the roster beyond 2015-16.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Orlando Summer League with 24.0 points per game on 18.8 shots per game (40.4 percent) to go along with 7.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. He was held to 12 points on 13 shots to go along with five turnovers by Magic guard Victor Oladipo in the summer league finale, but based on his performance in Orlando he could be in line for a substantial boost in playing time (19.8 minutes per game as a rookie) despite adding Meeks.
Drummond will be a restricted free agent in 2016, and Brandon Jennings (two years, $16.3 million) will be an unrestricted free agent in 2016. Jonas Jerebko (unrestricted), Will Bynum (unrestricted), Luigi Datome (restricted), Kyle Singler (restricted), and Tony Mitchell (unguaranteed in 2015-16) could all be gone by 2015-16.
The Pistons also have 15 players under contract already, so it seems that Detroit will be making a move of some kind in the near future—unless someone comes out of left field at the last second and throws big money at Monroe—in which case the Pistons’ roster is probably set.
The core of the roster incredibly unclear, as it doesn’t appear the Pistons are overly attached to Josh Smith or Greg Monroe. Meanwhile, Jennings was shaky in his first year with Detroit, and if he doesn’t have a breakthrough campaign this season his days as a Piston may be numbered.
Still, Drummond is a terror on the glass on both ends (13.2 total rebounds per game and 5.4 offensive rebounds per game) and possesses the potential to be a dominant force if he can develop offensively under Van Gundy’s watch.
Franchise Outlook – 75/100
2014-15 will be one heck of a test for Van Gundy and company, but with the unfortunate injury to Indiana’s Paul George, the suddenly deeper, better-balanced Eastern Conference should have plenty of quality candidates to make the playoffs and escape the lottery. If Cleveland, Chicago, Washington, Toronto, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Miami are able to claim seven of the eight spots—which I believe they will—that would leave one spot for Brooklyn, New York, Indiana, Detroit, Orlando, Boston, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia. Assuming the 76ers, Bucks, and Celtics continue to lose, that leaves the Nets, Knicks, Pacers, Pistons, and Magic fighting for the final place in the postseason. Even if including the Magic on the list of playoff teams is rash, the point remains—there’s no shortage of teams who could contend for a playoff spot in 2014-15.
Making the playoffs is a realistic and attainable goal for Detroit in 2014-15, but they will only go as far as Drummond is able to carry them. Van Gundy has stated that they plan on feeding the big man this year, and it’s going to be interesting to see how Drummond handles an increased role after doing a lot of his damage offensively off of put-backs. There are still question marks galore going into September, but Van Gundy’s patience in the process has to be somewhat settling for the Detroit faithful. Whether they make the playoffs this year or not, with Drummond manning the paint and Van Gundy leading the team from the sidelines and front office, there are reasons for people to be optimistic about the Pistons’ future.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
