How Ed Stefanski is fixing the Detroit Pistons

When Ed Stefanski took the keys to the Detroit Pistons, he was left with a broken roster. Somehow he turned the team into a sixth seed contending team in the Eastern Conference.

There is no doubt that Stefanski is doing something right managing the Detroit Pistons.

Stefanski started off strong, hiring Dwane Casey, the reigning Coach of the Year, and the coach of the 59-23 Toronto Raptors squad.

Casey has had his ups and downs, but that could have been due to a lack of depth and inconsistency from players. Lately everyone has been on core, and the team has been on fire, currently holding the best record in the East since February.

Stefanski also was only given two second round picks, he drafted guard, Khyri Thomas who has given good production in the G-League and has promise to be a solid two-way role player in the NBA.

He didn’t just stop there with guards, he went out to draft the Miami guard Bruce Brown. Bruce has been very effective for the Pistons as of late. All though his offense is as stale as watching a Knicks vs. Cavs game, his defense has been stellar, allowing to play in the starting lineup and get 20+ minutes per game.

Stefanski didn’t stop there, he signed Glenn Robinson III and Zaza Pachulia.

His success doesn’t come from the draft, or even the free agency. It came from the way he was not scared to move on from players.

The front office of Ed Stefanski’s real efforts come from what he’s done during the season.

Stefanski hasn’t been scared to use the G League, sending down Henry Ellenson, Thomas, Brown and Luke Kennard has all spent time down there throughout the course of this season. He’s always trying to see what his guys can do, not experimenting with them while they are on the bench.

He wasn’t scared to move on from Ellenson by cutting him, bold move. Cutting a three-year guy, who was the 18th pick, it was interesting.

Ellenson is now on the Knicks now, and asides from two solid performances back to back, he hasn’t done much since.

There was also a big move by trading away Stanley Johnson.

It’s clear to the NBA now that Johnson isn’t as good as people say he could have been. Since joining the Pelicans he’s had a 27% field goal percentage and a below 8.3% 3 point percentage.

His offensive game was and is horrible. It was good to move on from before the free agency, but I only wish the team realized his busted potential after his sophomore year, where he averaged 35% shooting.

Now listen, we kinda got Stanley Johnson 2.0 in Bruce Brown, but at least Brown understands he has no offensive game. Johnson though, kept on believing he could be an offensive force, shooting nearly 10 shots per game, on 37% career shooting, it’s no doubt, that Johnson’s inability to score harmed the Pistons more than it did good.

The Pistons also moved on from Reggie Bullock who was on an expiring deal. Bold move for a team in a playoff push, but nevertheless not a bad one.

Let’s talk about the guys we get from deals and in season signings.

Starting off with Thon Maker. 

Maker has been a Piston for 12 games now, averaging 15 minutes. He hasn’t gotten the best time on the court but he’s done some notable things. If you allude to my post about how the Pistons can keep up their success, I nod at Maker.

But Maker has been good, he’s hit a game winner, played good interior defense, uses his length correctly, and is able to box out an opponent.

These are things that a modern NBA big man should be maybe at a higher degree, but Maker is like the basic package The Pistons don’t get that unless the name is Andre Drummond. Also, Maker has a lot of growth to do, he’s only 22 years old.

Why did Wayne Ellington want to come here?

Who knows why Ellington wanted to come here, there are many playoff teams who would’ve enjoyed to have him as well. By why us?

I am surely not sure, but Ellington sure is doing us some good with his shooting and defense.

He’s a great replacement for Bullock, and giving more delights on both ends than Bullock did.

I don’t know what the future holds for whatever his title Stefanski is. He currently is just an interim, or senior adviser? Can we resolve what his real role is here in Detroit? Get this out to Tom Gores to ask him, I’m curious. But, Stefanski has been a real reason to as in why the Pistons has succeeded as of late.

He’s moved on from guys who SVG were scared to let go of, and not scared to actually shop Drummond or Jackson.

Big credit to Stefanski, and I hope he can steer this team to a championship one day.