The Detroit Pistons have spent the last 10 years on the bubble of mediocrity. What would the team re-do, if given the chance, to capture more success?
Revisionist history is one of my favorite things, probably ever. You can bring in all these hypotheticals and what-if’s and not really have to be all that logical because you can pass it off as a not-so-serious thought, therefore, no one can criticize your thoughts because the world in which you’re rewriting history, everything is perfect. One of the best ways to do this is about basketball, more specifically, the Detroit Pistons.
Now, there are a lot of things in the 2009-19 decade that could have changed the course of the Pistons franchise. Similar to if Portland drafted Kevin Durant instead of Greg Oden. Or if the Pistons never selected Darko Miličić.
If the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t overspend for Luol Deng or Timofey Mozgov, or if the Orlando Magic didn’t give Bismack Biyombo the XXXXXXXL-sized (that’s seven XL) Brinks truck to get him away from Toronto (but seriously congrats to these guys for getting paid, I’d also be asking where to sign immediately upon hearing these offers), those teams might’ve been able to have a more successful decade.
But would more success means no D’Angelo Russell or the pairing of Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram which resulted in Anthony Davis? Would Orlando no longer have Aaron Gordon? This is the complex rabbit hole that can occur. Every franchise across all professional sporting leagues has a number of things that they wish they could do-over.
The last decade hasn’t been kind to the Pistons. And the organization has felt it, the fans have felt it, and the players have felt it. From 2009-10 to 2018-19, the Pistons have gone 333-471 and have been swept in both postseason appearances. And it might be time to reflect on some of the moves and moments and unfortunate occurrences.