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5 Things Pistons Fans Learned During the 2019-20 NBA Season (so far)

By Blake Stackpoole

PORTLAND, OREGON - FEBRUARY 23: Christian Wood #35 and Bruce Brown #6 of the Detroit Pistons react in the third quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers during their game at Moda Center on February 23, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - FEBRUARY 23: Christian Wood #35 and Bruce Brown #6 of the Detroit Pistons react in the third quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers during their game at Moda Center on February 23, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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Detroit Pistons
Christian Wood #35 of the Detroit Pistons (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Pay Christian Wood

The first and hopefully the most obvious thing that we learned is that the Pistons have to pay Wood this summer.

As a pending free agent who’s a young power forward/center who can spread the floor with his 38.6 percent shooting from three-point range this season, Wood will be one of the top free agency targets for a lot of teams this offseason so retaining him could get expensive.

Wood’s season stats were 13.1 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game, and one assist per game. You might be thinking, how does that warrant the big contract he will ask for? Well, those stats don’t give you the true picture of a starting Wood.

After the Andre Drummond trade and Griffin surgery, Wood began to start as his minutes went from around 15-18 up to 31-37 per game. In Wood’s post All-Star games, he averaged 24 points per game, 9.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1 steal and 1 block per game.

While his rebounds and blocks will be less than we got from Andre, his scores more and has a completely different aspect to his game. In the Pistons’ nine games after the all-star game, he shot 39 percent from three-point range, and even shot 38.6 percent for the season.

Detroit Pistons 2019-2020 player grade: Christian Wood. light. Related Story

This stat will give so much more space for Griffin to go to work and get back to his all-NBA level he was at only a season ago.

Wood is the type of player that you want to have on your roster in today’s NBA. Watching him perform at that elite level has given me something to look forward too. Having a starting lineup that will include Rose, Wood, Griffin, Sekou Doumbouya, and another shooter (Kennard or Snell) could actually do something.

If we get another 2018-19 level of production from Blake, an increase in production from Wood and Rose’s 2019-20 season could make the Pistons a threat.

While I know a lot of you are shaking your heads realizing that we’ve all been saying “the Pistons could make some noise this year” for seemingly the last ten years, I actually mean this.

If the lottery balls are in our favor and the Pistons could land a player like Anthony Edwards or Kilian Hayes in the draft and/or someone like Fred VanVleet or Brandon Ingram in free agency, watch out for Detroit in 2021.

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