Ten Years of Detroit Pistons Basketball Reviewed
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: Andre Drummond (1st round, 9th pick)
Khris Middleton (2nd round, 39th pick)
Kim English (2nd round, 44th pick)
Free Agent/Trade Additions:
Depth Chart:
Point Guard: Brandon Knight, Will Bynum, Jose Calderon
Shooting Guard: Rodney Stuckey, Khris Middleton, Kim English
Small Forward: Kyle Singler, Tayshaun Prince, Austin Daye, Corey Maggette
Power Forward: Jason Maxiell, Charlie Villanueva, Jonas Jerebko
Center: Greg Monroe, Andre Drummond, Viacheslav Kravtsov
Best Players: Greg Monroe, Brandon Knight, Rodney Stuckey
This was an important year for the Pistons as it was the beginning of a new era with the drafting of current franchise centerpiece Andre Drummond. Future Milwaukee Bucks all-star Khris Middleton was also drafted this year although he did not see much playing time which is unfortunate now that we know how his career has panned out.
Tayshaun Prince was the only remaining bad boy from the 2004 championship era still remaining on the roster and by this point, he was in the waning stages of his career at 32 years of age. It took the front office longer than they should have taken, but they were finally beginning their rebuild.
The fact that we took Andre Drummond when we already had a quality franchise center in Greg Monroe may have seemed like a boneheaded move to some. However, it is important to note that this era of the NBA was going through a major transition. The era where you would pair a traditional back to the basket center with a traditional back to the basket power forward was beginning to fade out. The era of pace and space, with stretch forwards, and shooting from all positions was just beginning to take over.
The Pistons hoped to beat that trend and stick to the traditional thinking with Monroe at the forward and Drummond at the center. While this pairing did not last long and was not too successful, it paved the way for the thinking behind future Detroit Piston frontcourts. The team finished another disappointing season 29-53, good for 11th in the eastern conference. With some quality young players on the roster in Knight, Drummond, and Monroe there was a reason to believe brighter seasons were coming for the Pistons.