Detroit Pistons: Where does Langston Galloway fit in 2018-19?

Langston Galloway is largely the forgotten man in the Detroit Pistons’ rotation. Where exactly does he fit in heading into the 2018-19 season? Ash Vanclay explores the possibilities.

All the discussions surrounding the Detroit Pistons and their rotation are primarily about shooting guard and small forward. The other spots are, seemingly, locked into place.

Langston Galloway was originally signed by Stan Van Gundy, with the intention of being able to fill either guard spot off the bench when necessary.

The Pistons also drafted Luke Kennard in the same off-season, expecting that he’d need some time to develop. However, he was much more game-ready than anyone expected, and Galloway was the main casualty of that.

Langston has played both point guard and shooting guard in his NBA career. After going undrafted in 2014, he was picked up by the New York Knicks. During his tenure in the Big Apple, he started 48 of his 127 games at point guard, averaging 9.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 27.5 minutes per game.

More recently, he’s mainly been a shooting guard in Detroit. Last season, Galloway appeared in 58 games, averaging 6.2 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 14.9 minutes per contest. He shot 37.1 percent from the field, 34.4 percent from three, and 80.5 percent from the free-throw line.

His path towards minutes this season will depend on who gets the starting nod at the shooting guard and small forward spots.

If both Kennard and Reggie Bullock start at those positions, respectively, then it’s more than likely that Galloway comes off the bench at shooting guard with either Stanley Johnson or Glenn Robinson III at small forward.

Dwane Casey may even opt to play a small-ball lineup with Robinson at the four. However, if Kennard or Bullock come off the bench, then I think Galloway will be squeezed out of the regular rotation.

Langston Galloway’s other path to playing time rests in the trainer’s hands, and the health of Reggie Jackson. In my opinion, Galloway is a much better option than Jose Calderon if Jackson happens to go down.

Both are strong, 3-point shooters (career 36.1 percent for Galloway, and a career 41.1 percent for Calderon), and both struggle on the defensive end of the court. But only one of them is still in their 20’s, and has something to prove.

Calderon is on the other side of 35 and is declining. He can’t be relied upon for regular minutes in the rotation, let alone starter’s minutes if Reggie does goes down. In his most recent season, he managed a turnover percentage almost identical to his assist percentage (17.1 compared to 17.4, respectively) – he’s just as likely to get an assist as he is a turnover.

Last year, Galloway had an assist percentage of 10.1, compared to his turnover percentage of 4.8. In his two seasons of playing point guard, he managed an assist percentage of 16.5 and a turnover percentage of 9.3.

I still believe that Galloway will be squeezed out of the rotation. However, depending on the starting lineup, a small-ball bench group of Ish Smith, Galloway, Johnson, Robinson, and Jon Leuer would look pretty good to me.

Let us know what you think in the comment section below.