When the Pistons initially traded for star forward Blake Griffin they ushered in a win/ be competitive now type of mindset. Just over three years following the blockbuster trade, the Detroit Pistons and Blake Griffin have mutually agreed that he will be out of the lineup until he and the organization can work something out more beneficial for his future. With this action, the team has ushered in yet another era in the Motor City, the youth movement. By moving the franchise’s direction from a “win-now” to a “build for the future” track they have created plenty for fans to get excited about, but there will still be growing pains. Throughout this article I will not only explore what fans can get the most hyped for, but also what kinds of struggles to expect from a rebuilding Pistons team with a haul of young players.
Youth Excitement:
The 2020 NBA Offseason was a massive one for the Pistons organization and their direction was clear when it was all said and done. It started by snagging four rookies through the draft who have been pegged with the nickname of “Core 4” by the organization; their names are Saben Lee, Isaiah Stewart, Saddiq Bey and finally the Piston’s number seven overall selection Killian Hayes. This sets an incredibly strong foundation for a rebuild by bringing in so much youth, but the next big step for the Pistons came in free agency. Here they notably signed Jerami Grant, Josh Jackson, Mason Plumlee, Delon Wright, Jahlil Okafor and Wayne Ellington. Grant and Jackson are both still young players (26 and 24 respectably) and since joining the Pistons they’ve both performed strongly which bodes well for their futures within the organization. As for all of the other free agents who were signed by the Pistons, they will serve as guiding veterans for all of the young guys to help with their development moving forward. After recently acquiring G Dennis Smith Jr. from the Knicks in exchange for Derrick Rose, the Pistons now have 12 active players on the roster aged 26 or younger. This is one of the things that’s most exciting about this team because, out of the 12 guys aged 26 or younger, the odds are pretty high that at least two or three of those guys will serve very key roles as the rebuild progresses, and Jerami Grant has already shown he can be one of those players. Another thing that comes with a full youth movement is a lot of speed. For players that have been in the league a while, their legs have a good amount of miles and wear and tear on them. For rookies just entering the league or guys that haven’t been given much of an opportunity, their legs are fresh and ready to go. For the Pistons, since they have so many guys like players described in the previous sentence, this means getting out in transition and scrambling for the ball at all times is a regularity. Finally, because most of the Pistons players are either rookies or young guys that have been given up on, they all have something to prove. This equates to effort levels being at 110% on both ends because these guys are not only competing amongst themselves for minutes, but they’re also trying to prove they belong in the league. It’s a fun, hard nosed, persistent, ‘never give in’ brand of basketball that’s been created by Piston’s GM Troy Weaver, and it’s exactly what Pistons fans have been craving. By switching up the franchise’s direction and bringing in a haul of young and unproven players with a determination to never give in, the Motor City has definitely created some buzz, but there will still be plenty of painful moments moving forward.
Expected Struggles:
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Whenever a franchise switches up its direction, it’s a pretty safe bet that the team will go through some growing pains. Losses are to be expected, but there are plenty of other things that need to be addressed for overly optimistic Pistons fans. With a haul of young players being on the roster, obviously there are things to be excited about. However, with a haul of young unproven players also comes a haul of inexperience and learning to come. Take a couple of guys like Josh Jackson and Dennis Smith Jr. for example. They’re still young and both have plenty of potential to be very solid players in the NBA, but the problem is that they’re both also still very raw. A good amount of that potential mentioned has yet to be tapped into and they’ve relied on their raw talents up to this point which is why you might see one of them have a great game one night, and then struggle to look like a basketball player the next. The consistency and polish just isn’t quite there yet for these guys, and the same can be said about all the rookies, so sloppy and inconsistent play should be foreseen for a while to come. So with the inexperience or lack thereof obviously comes a bit of sloppiness, that’s a given, but what’s a bit overlooked about experience is the aspect of leadership that comes with it. All of the players on the Pistons roster have never been the real number one option on an NBA team before, so none of them really know how to lead a group of NBA players. Having a group of veteran players on your roster like Delon Wright, Wayne Ellington and Mason Plumlee certainly helps in this category, but they serve more as locker room guys and mentors to young players than anything else. Blake was the leader for several years, including this year until he and the organization decided to have him sit out, because he had the most experience as a star on what was a high powered “Lob City” LA Clippers team. They had playoff experience and Blake was arguably the best player alongside Chris Paul during those years so he slid into a role of leadership seamlessly in Detroit. Now though that he’s no longer playing with the Pistons, it going to be natural for them to struggle in spots where teams would typically look to their leader. Situations such as tight late-game scenarios where you need a bucket, or a tough stretch of losing games where a team just needs a leader to guide them through it; these are spots that the Pistons will continue to struggle in for some time to come as well. Although having a lack of a leader is a problem for the Pistons, it is also a problem that tends to be solved naturally. As time moves on and the Pistons continue on through this rebuild, eventually somebody will emerge as the team leader naturally. Whether that be Jerami Grant, Killian Hayes or somebody still to come, someone will become a leader and it will be key to the overall team’s progression. So between not having a leader and most of the guys still being raw talent and potential, the Pistons have some problems. Although, these are not the worst problems to have because they will clear themselves up with time, added experience and continued play, overly eager Pistons fans just need to pump the brakes a bit and have some patience with the team as they progress.
Conclusion:
The Detroit Pistons organization as a whole has gone through some serious changes over the last several years. They’ve changed coaches, they’ve changed GMs, they’ve traded for a superstar and gone into a full rebuild. The team has come away from it all with a great group of young players with high ceilings for the future, but a great deal of learning and growing from the players must be done if they ever hope to reach those ceilings. We as fans have to be prepared for this process and can’t have too high of expectations, a rebuild like this takes time and we must understand that if we hope to stay sane. With that being said, since the team announced the news regarding Blake Griffin they’ve gone a six game stretch playing some pretty exciting basketball. Although they’ve only snagged one win over that stretch, four out of their five losses have been decided by 10 or less points and it sure is refreshing to see young guys getting extended playing time consistently. The Detroit Pistons organization has life again and there is real reason to be excited, we as fans just need to have some patience and give it time to come to fruition.
Piston Territory 