10 things I like (and don’t like) about the Pistons’ summer

In our continuing “10 things” series, we’ll take a look at the summer that was for the Detroit Pistons. Let’s see what we like (and don’t like) about the Pistons’ offseason.

The Detroit Pistons whimpered to the finish line this past season, falling short of the playoffs in disappointing fashion. They entered the offseason with a specific set of goals in mind, and while in a surprising round-about fashion, they certainly addressed each.

They intended to get a wing scorer off the bench, a third point guard, a third center on a minimum deal and to take care of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope‘s restricted free agency situation. While most anticipated the Pistons re-signing him at any cost to be the most likely outcome (and the Pistons themselves expected this to be the result), they capitalized on the Boston Celtics signing Gordon Hayward and needing to shed salary to consummate the deal. As a result they traded Marcus Morris to the Celtics for Avery Bradley, leaving KCP redundant.

They signed Langston Galloway (more on that later) to cover both the third point guard and reserve scorer roles, and they rewarded Eric Moreland for a great Orlando Summer League performance with a three-year partially guaranteed contract.

Aside from a couple other moves in free agency (welcome back, Anthony Tolliver and Reggie Bullock), the Pistons largely wrapped up their offseason transactions of note almost a month ago.

Let’s take a look at 10 things we like (and don’t like) about the Detroit Pistons’ summer.

1. Luke Kennard

I admit it, I was so heavily on the Donovan Mitchell bandwagon and thought he’d be the Pistons’ pick to the point where I did very little pre-draft work on Luke Kennard. Once I started to dig in on Kennard, I was impressed. Much more than a mere spot-up shooter, he is clever and crafty beyond his years and may be able to make up for an athleticism deficit at the NBA level with a high level of creativity.

Tough take and make by Luke Kennard. pic.twitter.com/kBl5fkEBRb
— Palace Pistons (@PalaceOfPistons) July 6, 2017

Kennard has also exceeded expectations at every turn. Defense is considered to be his greatest weakness, but when engaged in practice before the Orlando Summer League he surprised Stan Van Gundy and the rest of the coaching staff. So far he’s only impressed. We’ll see how that develops at the NBA level.

2. Andre Drummond‘s summer

Andre Drummond has had nothing short of an excellent summer. He had surgery in April to repair a deviated septum that has plagued him his whole career, and he quickly lost 20 lbs. Sometimes when you hear the age-old talking points (added 20 lbs of muscle, lost 20 lbs, much stronger, so on and so forth), it’s lip service. In Drummond’s case, it’s evident. He looks slimmer and more agile, and he looked great in the NBA Africa game.

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Speaking of his experience in Africa, it was a formative visit for the 24-year-old. Getting to see the conditions of life in Africa certainly affected him. In fact, when the NBA players visited an African shantytown, Drummond was so moved that he gave away everything on him and loose in the bus to the inhabitants of the village. His shorts were the only things he had left.

Drummond can breathe, he’s healthier, he had the experience of a lifetime and gained some perspective. What did you do this summer?

3. Stanley Johnson scores 86 points

Say what you want about the Drake’s semi-pro OVO tournament, based in Toronto. But if a guy scores 86 points in a game in that tournament, take note. Stanley Johnson went insane in OVO’s championship game, scoring 86 points in total and 20 points in the final 20 seconds of the fourth quarter and overtime. A year after hitting a championship game-winning three at OVO and being named MVP, Johnson is king of the OVO.

4. Bringing the band back together again

Letting Anthony Tolliver walk last summer was a mistake, and Stan Van Gundy recognized and rectified the situation by signing him to a one-year $3.29 million contract. The young and inexperienced Detroit Pistons were in desperate need of veteran leadership, and Tolliver can provide that better than most, along with a dangerous three-point shot.

Additionally, the Pistons opted to re-sign Reggie Bullock. He’s always seemed like he was one break away from hitting his potential, but through a series of misfortunes and injuries has never really been able to hit his stride. Hopefully Bullock will be able to settle into the rotation next year.

5. Eric Moreland‘s success story

Perhaps the biggest feel-good story of the summer for the Detroit Pistons belongs to Eric Moreland. Thanks to an outstanding Orlando Summer League performance, the Pistons rewarded him with a three-year contract worth $5.5 million. It’s a contract under heavy guarantee protection with multiple stages in the next two seasons, but Moreland isn’t going to let the uncertainty get to him. “I’m not thinking about dates or how it’s structured, I’m just trying to go out and do what I do best,” he said. “Nothing’s going to change.”

Moreland will be the third center, behind Andre Drummond and Boban Marjanovic.

6. Little Caesars Arena

We’re all going to miss the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Detroit Pistons won three championships there and had massive playoff successes in two separate eras with the Bad Boys and the Going to Work Pistons. However, it’s time to move back home. In just over two months, the Pistons will begin the regular season against the Charlotte Hornets on October 18th and tip off the Little Caesars Arena era.

The seating is structured in such a fashion that the stands will escalate steeply, placing fans closer to the action. The crowd will be a bigger homecourt advantage, if the team on the floor is worthy of their intensity. The Pistons have been active in the city of Detroit, both downtown and in its outer reaches, as they prepare to settle into their new home.

7. Getting hard capped

This piece has largely been positive, but one thing I just can’t get over is the fact that the Pistons hard-capped themselves for Langston Galloway. Their first move on July 1st was to sign him to a three-year $21 million deal, exceeding the taxpayers’ mid-level exception of $5.2 million in the first year by almost $1.5 million. This hard-capped them, making the tax apron of $125 million a limit that could not be exceeded for any reason.

That meant the Pistons were limited in the amount they could pay KCP to retain him without having to gut the roster, and all because they bid against themselves to make sure Langston Galloway was their guy. It’s likely the Pistons could have gotten him for a number below the taxpayers MLE, and there was simply no rush to make it happen.

8. Kicking the can down the road

The Detroit Pistons entered the offseason in a difficult situation. They were a lottery team heavily dependent upon internal growth where virtually the entire roster regressed last season. They were also an expensive team poised to become a very expensive team, one falling deep into the luxury tax.

While owner Tom Gores is more than willing to pay the tax for a winner, there’s no good reason to pay it for a 37-win team. They were prepared to do it to keep KCP, but the availability of Avery Bradley meant that they could get one more season with the bulk of this core together, ascertain Reggie Jackson‘s health, and evaluate whether this is a team worth breaking the bank for.

If they’re good this year, competitive every night, make the playoffs and show promise, you can bet Tom Gores will be delighted to spend whatever it takes to keep it going.

9. Reggie Jackson

Speaking of Reggie Jackson, no news is good news. Stan Van Gundy spoke about his rehab progress earlier this summer at an event at the Nike factory store in downtown Detroit:

"“They put him on a rehab protocol that is longer, a 16 week protocol where they’re slowly getting him ready for the season instead of getting him right back out on the court right away and doing his normal summer work.” Van Gundy continued, “He’s taking it slowly and ramping up more slowly, a lot more slowly than usual but really just concentrating on strengthening the leg and doing the conditioning he can do without pounding on the joint. So it’s a combination of rest and strength and conditioning. It’s all going well. We’ve had our physical therapist out there pretty much all summer with him to monitor his physical therapy.”"

He might not return to a full workload by training camp, meaning he may sit out some practices or skip some two-a-days. Jackson’s health will be vitally important to this team’s fortunes this season.

Next: What if the Pistons traded a member of their core?

10. Kyrie Irving trade rumors

Enough with the Kyrie trade rumors. The Pistons don’t have the pieces the Cleveland Cavaliers want, and of course they’re one of the 20-plus teams who want him. The Toronto Raptors, who have a point guard who might be Irving’s equal (or better) in Kyle Lowry even placed a call. Everybody wants Kyrie, and the Pistons are one of many teams who won’t get him.