Detroit Pistons: Every player’s true New Year’s resolution

It is (finally) 2021 and everyone can look ahead to the New Year. Here is a suggested New Year’s resolution for every Detroit Pistons player.

Since the Detroit Pistons are basically a new team, with the New Year ringing in, it makes sense that that they have some New Year’s resolutions they will want to achieve. Here is a suggested resolution for every player:

The deep bench and Drive guys:

Frank Jackson: Get a chance to play in some league

Most Pistons fans do not even know the 6-foot-3 guard is part of the team. He signed a two-way contract with Detroit on December 27. He was the last cut of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The two-way means he is ticketed to play with the Grand Rapids Drive of the G-League, but Jackson has played in 120 NBA games for the New Orleans Pelicans. He sports a not too bad career scoring average of 7.2 points.

With the G-League up in the air, Jackson is just looking for a place to prove himself.

Saben Lee: Get some PT, put me in coach

Lee is the Pistons other two-way player. That means he (and Jackson) can play up to 50 games for the NBA team even though he is assigned to the G-League.

With starting point guard Killian Hayes out for several games with an ankle injury, it might be nice for coach Dwane Casey to give Lee some time at the point. In the preseason, Lee was very intriguing. He showed speed and slick ballhandling ability. Based on his collegiate career, Lee also has some offensive punch.

Deividas Sirvydis: Get a good rust scraper

Sirvydis’ route to Detroit has been circuitous, to say the least. The 6-foot-8 shooting guard was drafted by Dallas in 2019, 37th overall, and was traded to the Pistons in return for three second-round draft picks. He played with Detroit’s summer league team and then returned to his native Lithuania.

Sirvydis’ signed a three-year contract last month. However, by the time he was able to get to the United States, with the travel restrictions caused by the pandemic, and the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols, he missed most of training camp.

So he is having to learn on the fly all of Casey’s sets for offense and defense.

Rodney McGruder and Sirvydis are the only players on the Pistons roster not have played in the first four games.

Rodney McGruder: Get a  role, somewhere, anywhere

In an NBA trade world dominated by the salary cap, sometimes a team trades for someone they are really not fired up to have, but need to balance things out salary cap-wise to have a trade go through.

McGruder was part of the three-team trade between the Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn Nets and Pistons. The sequence saw Luke Kennard go to L.A. while Brown headed to play for the Nets. McGruder and a first-round pick that became Saddiq Bey, settled in Detroit.

McGruder is in the second-year of a three-year deal he signed with the Clippers for about $5 million a year. He started his pro career in Europe and the G-League but saw some serious starting time a couple of years ago with the Miami Heat. He is known as a scrappy defender but not much of a scorer.

It was originally assumed he would be released by Detroit like Zhaire Smith and Dewayne Dedmon, but they were able to fit him under the cap.

Now, why they kept him is the story, because it is not quite clear at the moment. He has not played in any of Detroit’s first four games. McGruder is 29-years-old, so it is not like he is some kid who needs seasoning. Right now, he is an NBA veteran with no discernible role on the team.

Wayne Ellington: Keep his shooting eye as sharp as ever

A couple of years ago, Ellington made a quick stop in the Motor City and helped the Pistons make the playoffs. We will have to wait and see if the 6-foot-4 shooting guard’s second tour with the Pistons is as successful.

Ellington just turned 33 and is in his 12th NBA season, so he is not part of any rebuilding plan. He is best known for being a three-point shooter and a good, locker room guy. On a team with few shooters and a lot of young players who need guidance, Ellington does fill a need.

As for actual playing time, in the first four games, the only action Ellington received was against Atlanta, when Derrick Rose sat out. He played in crunch time and had 11 points. He missed a three-pointer in the final minute that would have cut the deficit to four.

A career 37.8% three-point shooter, Ellington will be counted upon in spots to provide some offense on a team that needs offensive sparks.