Five goals for Henry Ellenson in the 2017-18 season

4. Play on the second unit

Stan Van Gundy is hiring.

The role of back up power forward is available. Heck, the starting four spot is also open. But in Ellenson’s case, let’s just focus on making the second unit.

It’s anybody’s guess as to what the rotation at power forward will look like come opening night.

Tobias Harris led the Detroit Pistons in scoring last season with 16.1 points per game. Yet he only started 48 games. With Marcus Morris in Boston, it’s likely that Harris will start at the three or the four.

Now on to Jon Leuer. The 27-year-old hit a wall mid-season and never returned to his original form. Leuer shot 29 percent from beyond the arc – just like Ellenson. Except Leuer played in 75 games while starting 34 of them. With Ellenson and Anthony Tolliver waiting in the wing, there’s no guarantee he’ll retain his starting spot.

This leaves Tolliver as the only other threat to Ellenson’s minutes. The Tolliverse is back in the Motor City after a one-year stint with the Sacramento Kings. He had a solid 2016-17 campaign, shooting 44 percent from the floor and 39 percent from deep. His size of 6’8″ isn’t ideal, but his stroke makes up for it.

It’s safe to say that neither Tolliver, nor Ellenson, will start for the Pistons this season. But the fact that Ellenson could play his way into the rotation is the very definition of progress.