With a franchise who’s been on the decline for nearly a decade, could the Detroit Pistons find success by utilizing another team’s strategy?
The Detroit Pistons are in desperate need of a shakeup in their franchise dynamic. They may not have to look too far to find a blueprint.
The Memphis Grizzlies are one of the surprise teams in the NBA this year, currently sitting in the eight seed in the loaded Western Conference. The Grizzlies said goodbye to the Grit-and-Grind era and are ahead of schedule in their rebuild behind a mixture of young players and veterans.
Though they are a game below .500, the Grizzlies have showcased talent that has to have their fans excited and Memphis looks to make the playoffs as a way of building confidence and experience for their young core. They are an ascending young team that has a bright future.
The Pistons are on the other side of the eight-seed spectrum, as they are desperately trying to claw their way into contention for the last spot with a team filled with injured veterans.
While an eight seed playoff berth in the Western Conference would be the sign of an ascending young team in Memphis, another eight seed playoff wipeout in the East for Detroit would be a sign of a franchise that continues to spin its wheels after a decade of irrelevance. Not all eight seeds are equal.
Memphis rebuilt from one of the worst teams in the NBA last year into a young team in the playoff hunt, exactly where Detroit would like to be sometime in the near future.
In many ways Memphis offers a blueprint and some hope that a rebuild in Detroit won’t lead to another decade of losing. Here’s how Memphis did it and how Detroit can follow.
Nail the Draft
Memphis had the number two pick in a draft that had two players who were consensus superstar prospects, so nailing the Ja Morant pick wasn’t that hard.
Morant has been even better than advertised in his first year though, averaging 17.5 points and 7.1 assists per game and all but wrapping up the Rookie of the Year award midway through the season. Morant is proof that getting the right pick at the top of the draft is the fast track to rebuilding.
Memphis’ best pick may have come later, when they made a draft day trade for the rights to Brandon Clarke. Clarke has been an impressive two-way player off the bench, and adds even more athleticism to the Grizzlies’ young core. Memphis clearly identified a guy they were high on in the draft and made the trade to make it happen.
Detroit is unlikely to find a Morant in this year’s draft. The Pistons will probably pick somewhere in the 5-10 range unless they unload the veterans and embrace the tank. However, there is value to be had in that range, especially at point guard.
There may not be anyone of Morant’s pedigree, but the Pistons absolutely need to nail this pick and find a young foundational piece to go along with Sekou Doumbouya, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Luke Kennard, Christian Wood and Bruce Brown.
Ed Stefanski and company have done well identifying talent thus far, finding a potential steal in Brown in the second round, making what is turning out to be a great trade when acquiring Mykhailiuk from the Lakers, selecting a high-upside player in Doumbouya and taking a flyer on Wood.
Like Memphis, Detroit needs to identify a player later in the draft who can make an impact and do what it takes to get him, even if that means trading up.
Detroit could find itself with a surplus of late picks after the trade deadline and should package them to move up if they identify a player who they like, much like Memphis did with Clarke.
Make savvy trades at the right time
In addition to drafting well, the Grizzlies managed to make trades that not only gained them draft capital, but intriguing young prospects as well.
While they may have waited too long to trade franchise icon Mike Conley, Memphis was still able to get a good haul for the veteran, including a young player in Grayson Allen, two serviceable veterans and a first round pick.
Memphis was then able to fleece Phoenix and flip one of those vets Kyle Korver along with Jevon Carter for an intriguing prospect in Josh Jackson, De’Anthony Melton and two second round picks.
Memphis was able to use Phoenix’s desperation to shed money as a way to pick up two picks and a slow developing project in Jackson.
Memphis turned some heads when they traded for Andre Iguodala, as he doesn’t seem to fit in with their rebuild or timeline, but they were able to pick up a first round pick from Golden State in 2024, adding even more draft capital to their loaded coffers.
Memphis was able to secure draft assets and get some intriguing prospects without taking on any long term money or bad deals.
Detroit has a franchise-leader in Andre Drummond but he is unlikely to garner the type of haul that Memphis got for Conley. It’s been reported that Detroit has not been offered a first round pick for Drummond but that could change over the next few days.
Even if they can’t rebuild on a Drummond trade alone, they could fortify their assets by trading some combination of Drummond, Derrick Rose, Markieff Morris, Tony Snell and Langston Galloway, all of whom might offer some value to a contender.
Detroit is unlikely to get any high picks for these players, but they might find a situation where they can take back multiple second round picks or a slow developing player like Zhaire Smith in exchange for their veterans.
Like Memphis, Detroit needs to identify such situations and pounce when they get the chance. While some fans might not be excited about the prospects of second round picks, keep in mind that they can always be packaged to move up in the draft if the Pistons identify a player they like, as Memphis did with Clarke.
Memphis has shown that making savvy trades at the right time can quickly rebuild the supply of assets while not necessarily harming the present condition of the team.
Mix in veterans but let the youth lead the way
The Grizzlies are currently being led by rookies Morant and Clarke, second year player Jaren Jackson Jr. and third year shooting guard Dillon Brooks. They are all playing big minutes, getting plenty of shots and being allowed to develop chemistry as a young core.
While the youth is leading the way, Memphis added glue guys Jae Crowder and Jonas Valanciunas, who provide veteran leadership, experience and stability to the young core without taking away from it and do so on reasonable contracts.
Memphis found veterans who complimented their young core, allowing them to develop without competing with them for playing time or taking their shots.
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Thus far, Detroit has largely failed to do this, as their veterans are still getting most of the shots and minutes, while the young core of Doumbouya, Brown, Mykhailiuk and Wood have seen very little time together on the floor.
This could all change after the trade deadline and it’s possible that the Pistons will be a drastically different team by this time next week. Moving forward Detroit needs to identify veterans that compliment their core without taking away from it.
They don’t necessarily need to make a big splash in free agency and should avoid taking on long term money for a second tier veteran that may help them win now at the expense of playing time and development for their young players.
In other words, they need to find more players like Crowder and fewer like Snell and Reggie Jackson, both of whom have been playing inexplicable minutes over the last few games.
Detroit definitely needs to rebuild but it doesn’t have to be a multi-year tankathon, or some “Process” type project that takes seven years and yields middling results. Memphis has provided the blueprint for Detroit to compete for the “right” kind of eight seed as soon as next season.
With a solid draft, a few savvy trades and the right mixture of youth and experience, Detroit could execute a quick rebuild similar to what happened in Memphis.