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Ten Years of Detroit Pistons Basketball Reviewed

By David Borowicz

DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 8: a general view of the Detroit Pistons logo during the game against the Brooklyn Nets during a pre-season game on October 8, 2018 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, 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 Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 8: a general view of the Detroit Pistons logo during the game against the Brooklyn Nets during a pre-season game on October 8, 2018 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, 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 Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Brandon Knight of the Detroit Pistons. (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
Brandon Knight of the Detroit Pistons. (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Record: 29-53 (11th in Eastern Conference)

Head Coach: Lawrence Frank

Offensive Rating: 103.8 (21st in NBA)

Defensive Rating: 108.1 (24th in NBA)

Draft Additions:

Brandon Knight (1st round, 8th pick)

Kyle Singler (2nd round, 33rd pick)

Free Agent/Trade Additions:

Damien Wilkins

Walker Russel Jr.

Depth Chart:

Point Guard: Brandon Knight, Will Bynum, Walker Russel Jr.

Shooting Guard: Rodney Stuckey, Ben Gordon

Small Forward: Tayshaun Prince, Damien Wilkins, Austin Daye

Power Forward: Jonas Jerebko, Jason Maxiell, Charlie Villanueva

Center: Greg Monroe, Ben Wallace, Vernon Macklin

Best Players: Greg Monroe, Rodney Stuckey, Tayshaun Prince, Brandon Knight

Another down year for the Pistons. In the draft this off-season we selected point guard Brandon Knight with the 8th pick. While Knight was certainly a talented combo guard out of Kentucky, the pick was questionable as up until this point we had planned for Stuckey to be our point guard of the future. This pick forced Stuckey to play more at shooting guard, where at 6’5 he had the size to hold his own.

In free agency, we picked up Damien Wilkins and Walker Russel Jr, both rather underwhelming free agency signings who wouldn’t contribute much to the team. Greg Monroe improved upon his strong rookie season numbers this year putting up 15.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. These are great numbers for a second-year player and further cemented Monroe as Detroit’s best player and franchise centerpiece.

While Brandon Knight put up a solid rookie season (12.8 points, 3.2 rebound, and 3.8 assists), there was not much else going for Detroit. They lost Richard Hamilton in the off-season leaving them with even less scoring than they already had in the previous season.

On top of that, the bad boy veterans Prince and Wallace were both clearly on the wrong side of 30 and trending downward fast. This is another season for the Pistons that showed we had no vision. We were stuck in a strange transitional period where we were giving the reigns of the team to our young players trying to look to the future while refusing to let go of the declining veterans of our past.

The Pistons finished up the season 25-41 (season shortened due to the NBA lockout) and if there is any silver lining on this season it is that despite winning five fewer games than last season we finished one spot better than the previous year finishing 10th in the eastern conference.

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