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The Detroit Pistons off-season “to-do” list

ByMartin Mansour|
DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 23: Luke Kennard #5 of the Detroit Pistons reacts against the Philadelphia 76ers on October 23, 2018 at Little Caesars Arena in Auburn Hills, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 23: Luke Kennard #5 of the Detroit Pistons reacts against the Philadelphia 76ers on October 23, 2018 at Little Caesars Arena in Auburn Hills, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Detroit Pistons are going to have a productive off-season ahead of them. Here is their off-season “to-do” list that they should follow.

The Detroit Pistons getting swept in the first round of the playoffs presents that they are going to need to have a productive off-season to get farther in the playoffs.

In their first round series versus the Bucks, the Bucks mightily exposed the Pistons’ weaknesses. Specifically their wing play and lack of three-point shooting.

The Pistons don’t have any cap space to work with. They are over the cap and will unlikely trade away their larger contracts. But they have two different cap exceptions to work with; the mid-level exception and the bi-annual exception.

They have 9.2 million dollars to spend with their mid-level exception and 3.6 million dollars with their bi-annual exception.

Here is the “to-do” list the Pistons should follow.

  1. Draft a young wing player. The Pistons were mightily exposed after the trade deadline and playoffs at their wing position. After trading away both Stanley Johnson and Reggie Bullock, they struggled to put size and strength at the small forward position. They were forced to play Wayne Ellington, Luke Kennard, and on occasion Glenn Robinson III at that position. All of those players with the exception of Glenn Robinson III are undersized players. Robinson III was absolutely terrible for the Pistons. And all three players are not great defenders. With the Pistons drafting a young winger player, they tackle two needs at once. They get a wing player that can help contribute at the position at a low costing contract. And they also get a young prospect that can potentially develop into a star player.
  2. Use mid-level exception on a backup guard. The Pistons have had backup point guard struggles in the last couple seasons. Ish Smith was a solid backup point guard for the Pistons. He quickly changed the pace of the game and helped get the bench unit rolling. But his biggest flaw has always been his lack of three-point shooting. Many possessions the opposing team would gamble and leave Ish wide open for three. Most of the time it paid off for the opposing team. Ish Smith shot 31.4 percent from three in his 3 seasons with the Pistons. His 1.6 attempts per game is lower than what the Pistons ideally want. But with his lack of shooting, it was almost better that he didn’t attempt a ton of them. The Pistons will likely let Ish Smith walk away from the Pistons. Instead they will look to bring in a backup point guard that can shoot and will play meaningful minutes. The player they should most notably target is Seth Curry. They should offer almost all of their mid-level exception to snag him. Seth Curry would get heavy minutes as the backup point guard and will occasionally play minutes at the shooting guard spot next to Reggie Jackson. Seth Curry has shot 43.9 percent from three for his career. And this season with Portland he averaged 7.9 points per game and 3.4 threes per game on 45 percent shooting from three in almost 19 minutes a night. He will likely receive around 25 minutes a night with the Pistons.
  3. Not give up on Andre Drummond and Luke Kennard. The Pistons are certainly going to explore all options to improve their roster. One of the options includes potentially trading away Drummond and/or Kennard. Luke Kennard had a solid sophomore season with the Pistons. He averaged 9.7 points per game, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on 39.4 percent from three. He is easily the Pistons best three-point shooter. And he absolutely balled out for the Pistons during the playoffs; averaging 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on 60 percent shooting from three in the 4 games versus the Bucks. He could potentially be the Pistons best bench player going into next season. And his potential to be a 15 point per game bench scorer should keep him in Detroit. Andre Drummond had his best season with the Pistons. He averaged a career high 17.3 points per game, 15.6 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.7 blocks on 53.3 percent shooting. His much improved defense combined with his young age should signal the Pistons into keeping him. He was the main reason the Pistons competed for a top 8 playoff spot and not a top 8 lottery pick. And the Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond duo worked out for the Pistons. Drummond is only 25 years old and still has potential to become much more improved.

What do you think the Pistons should do?

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