The Detroit Pistons and Blake Griffin have agreed to part ways via trade or buyout which will mean a lot more minutes to go around.
The biggest reason for the Detroit Pistons to either trade (not happening) or buy out Blake Griffin was to open up more minutes for their young guys.
After all, if the Pistons do buy Blake Griffin out, they will essentially paying him huge money to play for another team, which is not an ideal situation to be in.
They will likely get a little bit of that $39 million owed to Griffin back, but it’s still a hefty tax when the guy only had a year left on his deal and the Pistons could have just waited it out.
But the Detroit Pistons are playing well right now and want to continue on this path, as their rookies and young guys are playing hard around veterans Jerami Grant, Mason Plumlee and Delon Wright.
With 31 more minutes to spread around, who is going to be playing more? What might the starting lineups and rotation look like?
Detroit Pistons: What is the new starting lineup? Who will get Blake Griffin’s minutes?
The Detroit Pistons will likely run the same starting lineup that we saw in their recent win over the New Orleans Pelicans, which is Delon Wright, Wayne Ellington, Saddiq Bey, Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee.
Sekou Doumbouya is likely to be the biggest beneficiary of Blake’s minutes, as he is only playing 13.1 minutes per game and Dwane Casey mentioned him specifically in a recent interview.
#Pistons Dwane Casey on Blake Griffin news: "We're rebuilding and we have to give minutes to young guys like Sekou (Doumbouya) and Saddiq (Bey).
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) February 15, 2021
Hopefully, Doumbouya can get closer to 20 minutes per game now that there is less clutter at the power forward spot.
But it won’t just be Sekou.
Saddiq Bey and Svi Mykhailiuk should get a boost as well, as both have been shooting the ball well lately, playing hard on defense and showing that their size can be an advantage for the Pistons.
While Jerami Grant probably won’t play more minutes overall, he will definitely play more of them at power forward, which is probably the best position for him, as it takes advantage of his length and ability to defend up.
Bey and Grant are a defensive pairing that has been effective for the Detroit Pistons and we should see a lot more of it.
The Pistons should have a tighter, 10-man rotation moving forward so they can get plenty of looks at Mykhailiuk and Doumbouya.
Josh Jackson should continue to be the 6th man but will get more minutes, perhaps in small-ball lineups with him at the four and Isaiah Stewart playing center.
The rest of the season is going to be fun to watch, as the Pistons are a much faster, younger and more athletic team with Blake Griffin sitting on the bench.