The Importance of the Pistons’ Front Office: Big Markets vs. Small Markets
As the 2019 NBA Free Agency frenzy winds down, we are seeing historically unsuccessful franchises land not one, but two superstar free agents. Can the Detroit Pistons’ Front Office outweigh the fact that Detroit is a small market?
Little Brother vs. Big Brother
The Brooklyn Nets opened up Free Agency by signing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. To cap it all off, Kawhi Leonard announced he is signing with the Los Angeles Clippers instead of the Los Angeles Lakers or the Toronto Raptors. He also recruited Paul George, who requested a trade to the Clippers alongside him.
The point here is that a good front office matters. The Nets and the Clippers were always the unwanted children of New York and Los Angeles. Those same two cities housed the Knicks and the Lakers, respectively. Arguably the two most famous franchises in NBA history in two of the biggest markets in the NBA. Brooklyn rebuilt itself with a good GM in Sean Marks, who went all-in on player development, since they had traded away the majority of their picks. On the other coast, the Clippers hired the logo himself, Jerry West, as their consultant, while adding Lawrence Frank and a few other key members to the front office. That, with Doc Rivers as head coach, made them one of the most sought after franchises.
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A System Change
Now when we look at our Detroit Pistons, most fans had lost hope with the previous “regime” that brought us multiple stifling contracts such as Jon Leuer or Reggie Jackson. Shortly after Stan Van Gundy made a splash by trading for Blake Griffin, he failed to make the playoffs. This led to an overhaul, which led to Ed Stefanski leading the front office, while former coach of the year Dwane Casey was leading the team from the sidelines. Stefanski’s official title is senior advisor to the owner, Tom Gores, but everyone knows that he assume GM duties.
This new front office managed to instill a sense of urgency in an inexperienced roster in the 2018/19 season, to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2016 season. In addition to hiring the reigning Coach of the Year, they managed to work on developing rookies Bruce Brown and Khyri Thomas, who both are looking much better in the 2019 Summer League. Detroit managed to get Thon Maker in return for Stanley Johnson, while flipping Reggie Bullock’s expiring contract into a young player with immense potential and a second-round pick. Before the draft, the Pistons managed to get out from under Leuer’s massive contract to acquire Tony Snell and the Bucks’ 2019 draft pick. Snell will definitely have more of an impact than Leuer did, and Stefanski managed to turn that Bucks pick into a few second-round picks. Finally, they drafted Sekou Doumbouya at 15 in the 2019 draft, which is a controversial pick with tremendous potential.
The point here is this; the Pistons’ front office is operating on a level that any loyal fan has to appreciate. One might not be a fan of a retool or a rebuild, however, the fact that they are not making any rash decisions while acquiring future assets is a sight Detroit fans have definitely missed.
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The Nets or the Clippers have geography on their side, as both cities are huge attractions for free agents, however, those same franchises have nowhere near the historic success that the Detroit Pistons have had. So all in all, it is not as far-fetched to take their road-map and adjust it to ours. And if there is one thing we can learn from those smaller teams, it is that a front office that is not desperate but careful will eventually help a franchise blossom into something special.