Stanley Johnson could be the future at shooting guard

Stanley Johnson has shown promise for the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons have a decision to make on Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s long-term future–sign him long-term or move on. If the Pistons choose the latter, Johnson can handle it.

For the Detroit Pistons, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is fully entrenched as the team’s starting shooting guard.

The Pistons view Caldwell-Pope as part of their core. They want to extend Caldwell-Pope, ensuing he’s a member of their core long-term, but there are rumors that his asking price, as it currently stands, might be too rich for the team.

Personally, I think the Pistons would eventually cave and pay the man, but the NBA is a business and if you can move Kentavious Caldwell-Pope without experiencing much drop off at the position, while also improving another area of the team, why not do it?

Enter Stanley Johnson.

In Johnson’s rookie season there were many highs (see playoffs) and many lows (injuring his shoulder and falling out of the rotation)–as you would expect from a rookie.

But one thing was always clear–he can really play and he has a desire to be great.

While we have yet to see how his offseason work will translate into year two success, it’s evident that Johnson has improved on some of his biggest weaknesses. In Summer League Johnson demonstrated control and confidence when dribbling with his off hand, and a much better looking jump shot.

The shooting numbers may not wow you from Summer League, but remember, he was playing to his weaknesses. The real value in Summer League was seeing Johnson’s improved shooting motions. I don’t know how well that will translate at the three-point line, but I think Johnson is going to be a deadly mid-range shooter this season off the dribble.

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Defensively it is impossible to replace Caldwell-Pope this season. He’s the team’s best perimeter defender and he’s the only player the Pistons can guard the elite point guards with speed like Steph Curry and Damian Lilard.

At 6’7″ and 245 lbs, Johnson possesses elite size for a two guard. His size and lateral quickness also give him a clear advantage defensively against just about any two guard in the league. As good as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is on defense, Johnson’s size–in theory–should help him against the bigger guards in the league where Caldwell-Pope struggled.

I’m not suggesting that Johnson is a better defender than Caldwell-Pope–he isn’t–but he has the potential to be.

Trading Caldwell-Pope if a deal isn’t struck is risky. The Pistons don’t have a ton of proven depth at the position and his defense would be hard to replicate this season.

For a team without many needs its hard to see how trading him would benefit another area on the team. It’s also hard to argue trading him with his restricted free agent status in the offseason giving the Pistons a trump card in free agency.

It’s also hard seeing the Pistons’ getting equal value for Caldwell-Pope while also finding a more cost-effective option.

The Pistons drafted Stanley Johnson to be their small forward of the future. He is still firmly entrenched as the team’s long-term future at the position. But with how well Marcus Morris has played at small forward and Tobias Harris‘ ability to switch over the Pistons could live with him being the long-term future at shooting guard.

Ultimately, I think it would be unwise to move Caldwell-Pope. I also think it would be unwise to extend him, whether that be before the October 31st deadline or in the offseason. He’s a young player who’s proven he can play on both ends. He also has an excellent chance to improve into a borderline all-star caliber player.

That said, Stan Van Gundy and Jeff Bower have proven to have an eye towards the future. While the team has the finances to extend Caldwell-Pope, it’s hard to say if the team will have the finances to re-sign Johnson or another core member of the team in the following years.

While it’s possible the salary cap continues to rise and the dilemma eventually becomes moot, that has to weigh on the front office’s mind.

Next: Projecting the Detroit Pistons' Point Guard Depth

Johnson has shown enough promise that there’s no doubt he could be the Pistons’ two guard of the future. But extending Caldwell-Pope is the right way to go. Moves can always be made to create cap space for exceptional talents, should the Pistons find themselves in a similar position in the future.

Extend Caldwell-Pope and solve the rest later.

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