Detroit Pistons most important offseason addition

The Detroit Pistons made several moves to fill out their roster. Here is what we think is the most important move entering the year.

Going into this offseason, the Detroit Pistons had three major positional needs to fill out their rotation. The only point guard was Reggie Jackson, there was no center behind Andre Drummond, and there wasn’t a wing player above 6-foot-5 on the roster.

After filling all of these needs, which was the most important move they made this offseason? Signing third string point guard Tim Frazier and successfully acclimating Bruce Brown to the point guard position in the Las Vegas Summer League.

For a third point guard to be the most important acquisition, it begs the question. How terrible was Jose Calderon at basketball last year?

Calderon was atrociously bad, shooting 37 percent from the field, and 24 percent from three.

He is known to be a solid veteran presence in the locker room, helping new guys adjust to the league. But if you have to rely on him to play basketball in 2018, you are in trouble. And that is exactly where the Pistons found themselves last season, struggling to stay afloat in the minutes that Calderon graced the floor.

In the 34 games where Calderon received at least 10 minutes of playing time, the Pistons were 11-23, a .323 winning percentage. It is fair to expect a noticeable drop off when your backup point guard is injured, but this was a complete meltdown.

Ish Smith‘s injury combined with Calderon’s inability to provide any positive impact turned what could’ve been a 6-seed in the Eastern Conference to a team that had to scratch and claw against the expiring contracts of the Memphis Grizzles, just to sniff the playoffs.

So when the Pistons locked up the dynamic, but often-injured backup point guard in Derrick Rose, it was fair for fans to clench their teeth and remember what happened when Smith went down for two months because of an adductor muscle tear.

However, the front office learned from their mistakes last season. Instead of adding veterans on the tail end of their careers like Calderon and Zaza Pachulia, they decided to target younger players that haven’t received much of an opportunity, like point guard Tim Frazier.

Tim Frazier started 19 games last season, most coming with the New Orleans Pelicans. Averaging 19 minutes per game, Frazier scored 5.3 points and dished 4.2 assists per contest. He converted field goals at a 44 percent clip and shot the three well, at 36 percent.

Frazier was waived by the New Orleans Pelicans in February, not necessarily due to poor performance, but the 28 year old was unlikely to be in their future plans as they moved toward a youth movement. The Pelicans took a stab at EuroLeague guard Davis Bertans, and Frazier was the odd man out.

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Frazier then returned to the Milwaukee Bucks, where he was used mostly as a victory cigar. In the last game of the regular season against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Frazier played an excellent 48 minutes, putting up 29 points, 13 assists and 6 rebounds.

Frazier has played on a lot of teams in short NBA career, similar to the previous backup point guard Smith. Frazier should be able to adapt nicely into Dwane Casey’s system, and will always be ready when called upon. He has experience starting as well as playing a limited role, which is valuable since he is not expected to receive consistent playing time.

Second-year player Bruce Brown could also provide point guard depth, after working on his ball handling and distribution for an entire offseason. Brown showed his ability to run a team in the summer league, averaging 10.5 assists per 36 minutes (The next highest average was 7.9 assists).

Brown put up what was only the third triple-double in Vegas Summer League history, and looked extremely comfortable doing so, as second-year players should. But Brown wasn’t playing a role he was familiar with, and still remained one of the most impressive point guards this summer.

James Edwards III of The Athletic suggested a “hot take” of his own, that Brown and Luke Kennard could become the starting backcourt if Reggie Jackson gets either injured or traded during the regular season. This idea would allow Rose’s scoring ability to remain on the bench, and slide Kennard into the lineup at his natural position.

Brown’s capability to play the point guard position combined with the addition of Frazier do not guarantee the Pistons will finish the season with more wins than losses, but they do ensure that the Pistons will not bottom out as horrendously as they did last season.