By George B. Eichorn of the Downtown Detroit Monitor
Don’t look now but the Detroit Pistons are back in action. Not since the month of March have you been able to follow our NBA franchise at Little Caesars Arena or local cable television during this pandemic. And my oh my is this a new version of the roundball squad. The season opener is December 23 at Minnesota and the home opener December 26 against Cleveland.
New general manager Troy Weaver from the Oklahoma City Thunder was hired by owner Tom Gores to turn away the misfortunes of a once-proud team. The Pistons were next to last in the NBA Central last season winning only 20 games while losing 36. They were 32.5 games behind the first place Milwaukee Bucks.
A huge roster turnover greets Pistons fans as Coach Dwayne Casey attempts to establish roles and playing time for all the new faces. Back from last season are six-time NBA All-Star power forward Blake Griffin, point guard Derrick Rose, small forward Sekou Doumbouya and shooting guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk. That’s it! Gone from the roster from the start of last season are Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson, Luke Kennard, Christian Wood, Brandon Knight, Markieff Morris, Langston Galloway, Tony Snell, Bruce Brown and several others.
Inserted into Casey’s rotation are these newcomers: shooting guards Delon Wright, Wayne Ellington, Jordan McRae and Rodney McGruder; point guards Killian Hayes (Detroit’s no. 1 draft choice) and Sabin Lee; small forwards Jerami Grant, Saddiq Bay, Deividas Sirvydis, and Josh Jackson; power forwards Grant and Dzanan Musa, and centers Mason Plumlee, Isaiah Stewart and Jahill Okafor.
The Pistons have plenty of question marks in this new lineup and GM Weaver may not be done wheeling and dealing as Griffin and Rose probably are available for the right asking price. Yes, the Pistons are rebuilding, much like the Red Wings and Tigers.
Four pre-season games are on tap – this Friday and Sunday at home versus the New York Knicks and December 17 and 19 at the Washington Wizards. It will allow Casey and his staff a short time to see where the pieces of the puzzle fit both offensively and defensively.
Weaver is building this team through the recent NBA Draft and free agency and trades. But the actual rebuild started last season when stars like Drummond and Jackson were dealt away before COVID-19 stopped the Pistons season.
On the broadcast side, George Blaha and Greg Kelser return on Fox Sports Detroit while Mark Champion and Rick Mahorn on flagship WXYT-FM 97.1 with play-by-play and commentary.
My prediction: Third place and missing the playoffs.
Reach George Eichorn at @DSBA2 on Twitter or email [email protected].
