The Detroit Pistons have 25 games remaining for an evaluation period. Here are four things to watch in the return from the All-Star break.
The Detroit Pistons season didn’t go as planned — ruined by untimely injuries causing an inability to complete a full 48 minutes. Other challenges were on the defensive end not allowing to keep up with a solid offensive showing.
With 25 games left, most casual fans will check out and follow along with 2020 NBA Draft coverage, which we’ll have plenty of. But there are still elements to watch with a future outlook for the Pistons.
After the Pistons bought out Reggie Jackson, it left Luke Kennard as the longest-tenured Piston. He beats Langston Galloway, who was signed 13 days after Kennard was selected 12th overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. Blake Griffin is the only other player that the current regime inherited.
The Pistons roster will look very different from the start of the 2019-20 season to when the 2020-21 season tips off. Over the next month and a half, Ed Stefanski, Arn Tellem and Dwane Casey will evaluate what they have — whether veterans or prospects ahead of having the most financial flexibility the team has seen heading into the offseason in recent memory.
As for the 19-38 Pistons, they’re ascending the Tankathon standings and have the league’s second most difficult schedule until the season’s final buzzer. There’s a realistic opportunity to slide into the top-5, or better, of the lottery odds. Though those have been proven to have a wild variance given the particular day.
Detroit has $35 million in potential cap space this summer and has every reason to believe they’ll be major players in obtaining assets. The Pistons are one of a handful of teams with cap space and can outbid for a pool of veterans to pair with a younger roster. The players they target could be determined by the next 25 games as players are evaluated.
Here are four things to watch for the rest of the Pistons season.