Pistons roundtable: Building blocks

The (somewhat) annual Pistons roundtable has returned. Each day this week, our panel of Pistons writers will answer a question about the Pistons – all in one place. Please add your answers in the comments.

Which current Pistons will be in Detroit’s rotation when the team next wins a playoff series?

Drew Sharp, Detroit Free Press

Assuming that series victory is another two years away, Andre Drummond, Jose Calderon and Jonas Jerebko are the only remaining pieces from this year’s team. I foresee the possibility of a trade involving Greg Monroe and Brandon Knight to bring in a big-time scoring wing, and the Pistons might get a pretty good lottery pick this year with a top-seven selection.

Mike Payne, Detroit Bad Boys

Hopefully Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe and Jose Calderon.  I’m hoping Calderon is retained for three years, with a contract acting as a financial placeholder for a Drummond extension, and the team breaks into the 8th seed next season.  With the right wing counterparts, I think those three could push the team into a tough first round challenger.

Phil Fattore, Pistons 101

Andre Drummond. While only a rookie, Drummond has already established himself as the future of the Pistons. With the Pistons still in a rebuild, the only player on the roster that should have the “NO TRADE” title is Drummond. He’ll be a Piston for years to come, including the next playoff series win.

Daniel Poarch, Life on Dumars

Right now, any conversation about the Pistons’ future starts with Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe. They’re already the two best players on the team, and if they can gel into a cohesive starting frontcourt, the Pistons will be dangerous down low. Brandon Knight, Jonas Jerebko, and Kyle Singler look like possible contributors, as well.

Eric Stafford, Life on Dumars

It’s a given that Monroe and Drummond will be important parts of any Detroit playoff team unless something goes awfully awry.  Brandon Knight could still be an important role player on a Pistons team that actually wins a playoff series. I also think Kyle Singler, Khris Middleton and Jonas Jerebko have chances if they’re used correctly.

Thom Powell, Life on Dumars

Monroe, Drummond, Knight, Jerebko, and Calderon (provided he re-signs). With the way Kyle Singler fell off after the first few months of the season, I’m not sure he’s a rotation player for a playoff team. Knight’s fit on the team is similarly questionable, but I feel like with the right role — sixth man might suit him — he can help a lower level playoff team.

Natalie Sitto, Need4Sheed.com

Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe are the only two players on this current roster that the team can truly build around. The “Twin Towers” could be something special, and if the Pistons have any chance in the near future to  get to the post season, they’ll be a part of it.

Patrick Hayes, PistonPowered

Drummond is the only player I’d say with 100 percent certainty, with Greg Monroe a near certainty to be there as well. That’s it, though. I think players like Brandon Knight, Kyle Singler, Jonas Jerebko and even Rodney Stuckey could be rotation players on playoff teams, but I don’t see the Pistons getting back to the playoffs without making trades involving some of their young players. A Monroe-Drummond frontcourt, with the right acquisitions around them, could definitely be a playoff contender down the road.

J.M. Poulard, PistonPowered

As painful as this may sound, there aren’t many. Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond are both young, productive and full of potential. Given the scarcity of quality big men, it seems evident they will remain with the franchise longer than the other players. That gives them an edge in terms of being part of a team that will experience postseason success in Detroit.

Jameson Draper, PistonPowered

It will be a pretty similar team, because the Pistons should make the playoffs very soon – even as soon as next season. The key players to the hopeful playoff squad will be Monroe and Drummond, but I’m guessing Brandon Knight and Kyle Singler will be seeing a lot of time as well. Unfortunately, I don’t see the Pistons re-signing Calderon.

Brady Fredericksen, PistonPowered

Greg Monroe, Andre Drummond, Kyle Singler, Brandon Knight. All four of those guys can be a part of a playoff rotation right now, if they were put in such a situation. The idea of the Pistons winning a playoff series is still AT LEAST two seasons away. Singler can be a valuable part of that, but he’s better suited as a forward off the bench who can shoot and rebound — not as a starter.

Dan Feldman, PistonPowered

Grant Hill won Rookie of the Year in 1994-95, helped the Pistons wins 46 games the next season and 54 the following year – and he didn’t win a playoff series until 10 year after he left Detroit. That’s a long way of saying there’s a larger chance than most realize that no current Pistons will be here when the team next wins a playoff series. But I’d rate three players as more likely than not to contribute to a playoff-winning Pistons team: Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond for obvious reasons and Jonas Jerebko, whose contract is big enough to limit Detroit’s options for moving him and who has finally accepted the role-player mentality that will likely keep him in the rotation.