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Where are the Detroit Pistons headed besides downtown Detroit?

By Luke Wolthuis

Nov 22, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; A general view of the new Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red WIngs shared venue Little Caesars Arena from Cass Tech High School. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 22, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; A general view of the new Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red WIngs shared venue Little Caesars Arena from Cass Tech High School. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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As the Pistons move to downtown Detroit, we can only hope there will be many championships and memories formed at Little Caesars Arena. What direction are the Pistons headed, and what does the Detroit Pistons future hold?

The Detroit Pistons had a down-hill spiral of a season. Effort and energy was often lacking from key players, the starting lineup (in every configuration) was a disaster. Chemistry was a problem from the early points of the season on, particularly after Reggie Jackson returned from knee tendinitis early in December.

While on-court effort shouldn’t be something you can question from a professional team, there were times when it appeared they were checked out. In most effort metrics, the Pistons were near the bottom of the league. This is a problem that will need to be addressed going forward.

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The Detroit Pistons’ future may look promising but for the potential of this team is not showing in their play. Players like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Tobias Harris, Reggie Jackson, and Andre Drummond look great on paper but some of them were not at their potential this past season. For example, Drummond had a fantastic All-Star season last year, but this year was just another average year for him with some marginal improvements. Many blame this season on Reggie Jackson, who had missed the first quarter of the season, but he was a fringe All-Star the year before.

Stan Van Gundy recently stated, “I think Reggie will come back and be as good as or better than he was 2 years ago. I honestly do. There were a lot of things that were physically and mentally very difficult for him to handle.” Van Gundy also stated, “He’s committed to getting those things changed. He’s a talented guy and he’ll be really good next year — I have confidence in him.”

This off-season will be really important for the Pistons as they have the 12th pre-lottery spot in this years NBA Draft, which will be held on June 22. There are many mock drafts out there that the Detroit Pistons will select a center. According to Garry Parrish of CBS Sports, the Pistons are projected to take point guard Frank Ntilikina.

Frank Ntilikina is tall point guard at 6’5” with a wing span close to 7’0″. With his big size he is above average with his athleticism and quickness. He also has excellent court vision and has a “pass first” mentality.

Next: Who should be the Pistons franchise player?

On paper the Detroit Pistons’ future looks very bright. They just have to improve on some basic concepts that didn’t show this season. As fans of the Pistons we can’t dwell on this season, it was more a hiccup than anything else. As excited as we are for next season to start, we have to remember how important this off season will be when we go Detroit-bound next season at Little Caesars Arena.

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