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Opinion
The Pistons sit in a tricky situation and look poised to blow apart their team during the offseason.
Motor City fans were dealt a bleak season that saw the team finish with a 20-46 record.
The tandem of Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond did not work out for a number of reasons. While Rose and Drummond played decent basketball this season, Griffin featured in only 18 games due to injury concerns. Griffin has seen his level of play decline and currently sits as a ball and chain on the Pistons salary cap, with the team owing him $75.5 million over the next two seasons.
Detroit will look to try and move Griffin’s contract, just as it did Drummond’s. The team traded the star big man for a small return, indicating a need to rebuild. Despite averaging 17.7 points per game and 15.8 rebounds per game during his 2019-20 season with the Pistons, Drummond has proven that his style of play is not as useful in the NBA anymore as it used to be even with the solid numbers.
Adding further fuel to the fire, the Pistons also bought out Reggie Jackson’s contract as the experiment of him becoming their star had failed long ago. This gave Rose more of an opportunity to shine, with the former MVP averaging 18.1 points per game and 5.6 assists per game and keeping up the form he had the season prior with the Timberwolves.
This has not stopped the rumours of Rose being shopped, as the Pistons are rumoured to be cleaning house. The Lakers seem like the most likely outcome for Rose if he does leave Motor City.
But it’s not all doom and gloom in Detroit.
The trade of Andre Drummond saw an increase in minutes for power forward Christian Wood. Wood bounced from team to team in his first four years in the league before coming into his own during his last two seasons. Since the trade of Drummond, Wood played just 12 games as a starter, but the big man averaged 24 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per game. While his sample size was small, Wood could easily become a staple player in Detroit’s line-up if the team were to sign him back.
This would be Detroit’s best move to make in the off-season while trying to acquire some more picks in the draft or some young talent during free agency to help the team build towards the future.
Trading away Griffin is a must and re-signing Wood is a no brainer, as a major overhaul at Detroit should be expected during the off-season.
While the fans may not like it, it will be some time before Motor City makes its way into the playoffs once more.
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