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Detroit Pistons get no love from ESPN’s future rankings

By Braden Shackelford

Apr 24, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) is defended by Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson (1), guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) and forward Stanley Johnson (3) during the fourth quarter in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Cavs win 100-98. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 24, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) is defended by Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson (1), guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (5) and forward Stanley Johnson (3) during the fourth quarter in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Cavs win 100-98. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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How do the Detroit Pistons stake up next to their counterparts in ESPN’s future reankings? A playoff berth and a talented young core surely rates positively…right?

Last year ESPN’s future rankings (a ranking system that categorizes team’s projected success over the next three seasons) had the Detroit Pistons as the 27th best team out of 30.

That’s not good, but expected given the Pistons hadn’t been to the playoffs the previous six seasons. ESPN also couldn’t have accounted for the giant leap Marcus Morris took in his overall game, or the trade the team made for Tobias Harris.

Still, the ranking was pretty unfair given that they were ranked 20th overall the previous season. Afterall, all the team did was cut ties with ill-fitting pieces like Josh Smith and Greg Monroe–while adding Reggie Jackson. The team also had potential to get better internally with Andre Drummond and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope–and they had the 8th overall selection which turned out to be Stanley Johnson.

After a 44-win season you would think ESPN’s rankings would have the Pistons projected significantly better over the next three seasons right? (Especially with all their players being 25 years old or younger).

Wrong.

Via ESPN:

"Because the Pistons don’t stand out in any particular category, the future rankings don’t seem to capture the reasons for optimism in the Motor City.In Stan Van Gundy’s second year as coach and team president, Detroit returned to the postseason for the first time since 2009 and gave the Cavaliers a fight in a four-game sweep. Weighted by minutes played, the Pistons’ roster was the youngest of any playoff team, so Detroit is unlikely to backslide much if at all.Still, the challenge for Detroit will be taking the next step, since the roster is close to complete. The Pistons will have modest cap space before re-signing Andre Drummond, but the trade for Tobias Harris at the deadline was their big move. With few major additions on the horizon, Detroit is counting on internal development from Drummond, Jackson and recent lottery picks Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Stanley Johnson."

All of that sounded positive. I really don’t get why the Pistons find themselves 21st overall–particularly when they were at 20th overall with a worse record and worse players just two seasons ago.

The rankings make even less sense when you factor in that the Pistons played the Cavaliers as close as anyone in the post season thus far (yes the Toronto Raptors won two games, but the game-to-game results were much closer for Detroit).

If the Pistons didn’t have their nucleus locked up for the foreseeable future I guess I could understand these rankings a little better, but that’s not the case, other than the uncertainty of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope who is a restricted free agent next season.

Perhaps the future rankings don’t think the Pistons roster is going to get much better and that the limited cap room will hurt them?

Even that line of thinking is a bit of a stretch as talented players like to play on talented teams, thus Detroit should be a better free agent destination in the future.

What do you guys think about the rankings from ESPN?

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