Detroit Pistons fans shouldn’t expect their team to move on from their stars anytime soon.
With the 2020-2021 NBA season just over the horizon, it appears that after a chaotic and somewhat strenuous draft and free agency period, the Detroit Pistons roster is finally taking shape.
There weren’t necessarily any moves that shook fans to their core, but there were certainly a lot of moves, and a lot of new faces. Notable departures include Luke Kennard and Christian Wood, and notable arrivals include Jerami Grant and Killian Hayes.
Rookie General Manager Troy Weaver’s plan for Detroit’s rebuild is becoming clear. They don’t want to be the bottom of the barrel in the league, but they also don’t want to try to be something they aren’t.
The latter is something they’ve mistakenly attempted for the better part of a decade.
So finally, we have a front office who’s willing to play the long game. Retaining certain players like Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin could be a key piece to the puzzle.
There is perpetual trade buzz surrounding the duo and yet, nothing ever seems to materialize. In Griffin’s case, the market for him is going to be tricky. First, teams need to see how he’s able to return from injury.
It was recently reported that a Griffin-for-John Wall swap was recently discussed, but again, nothing ever came of it.
By the time the season officially tips off, it’ll have been a full year since he last played for the Pistons. He’s fully expected to be healthy.
Despite the size of his contract, it isn’t an enormous detriment to Detroit’s ability to navigate their cap room. They’ve been meticulous and responsible with their spending in recent years and saved themselves from any longstanding overpays.
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Because of this, unless Griffin himself demands a trade, there’s a world in which he stays until the end of his contract. There’s too much value in him as a player and a coach on the floor, and the Pistons won’t move him just to do it.
His presence will go a long way in the development in every single one of Detroit’s young players.
The exact same can be said about Rose, who was directly mentioned by Hayes in his introductory press conference just the other day. He talked about how excited he was to learn from and mold his game around Rose.
This one is tricky though. Rose has thrived thus far in Detroit and even requested that he not be traded at the deadline last season. His game in a comfortable place with the Pistons, and he wants to keep it that way.
Doing right by a player can go a long way, but ultimately if the offer is too good, it doesn’t matter. The only way Detroit will move on from him is potentially at the deadline this season, where his explosive bench scoring (and expiring contract) could be enough to get contenders to bite.
Until then however, there’s not a reality where the Pistons decide they don’t want him around. There’s no downside to keeping him around, again, at least until the deadline.
It’s currently unknown whether or not they’ll attempt to re-sign him next summer when the time comes, but it could certainly be a possibility.
Despite the sheer number of times Pistons fans have been caught off guard in these last few weeks, this feels more or less like a sure thing. Griffin and Rose will be in Detroit for a while.