Detroit Pistons: Midseason grades for players, coach and front office
Detroit Pistons: Midseason grades for the small forwards
A. . Small Forward. Detroit Pistons. SADDIQ BEY
What can you say about rookie Saddiq Bey? He is one of the top shooters in his rookie class, is versatile and ruthless on defense and has plus size for the position.
He has already won Eastern Conference Player of the Week, continues to climb the Rookie Ladder and has flashed a post game that could be part of his future arsenal.
If you draft a guy at 19 and he ends up in the top-five in Rookie of the Year voting (which Bey easily could) then that is what is called a “steal.”
Saddiq Bey may not end up being the best player from his draft but he might be the best pick.
Detroit Pistons. JERAMI GRANT. A+. . Small Forward
The culture change that is happening in Detroit is largely because of the play of Jerami Grant, which has been outstanding since he joined the Pistons.
He was given an expanded role and has made the most of it, finding himself in the top-five of nearly every important category for small forwards and making himself into a frontrunner for Most Improved Player in the NBA.
Even the most optimistic fans could not have predicted Grant would be this good and his ascension has changed the timeline of the Pistons’ rebuild, as he is good enough to carry a team to the playoffs, possibly as soon as next season if things go right.
D+. . Forward. Detroit Pistons. SEKOU DOUMBOUYA
I am not going to bag on the 20-year-old, as he is still developing and is going to require some patience, but I’d be lying if I said his season was not a bit of a disappointment.
I don’t think anyone expected a major leap from Doumbouya based on the limited evidence from last season but I can’t identify a single area where he has improved.
I would have been happy with incremental improvement from Doumbouya and maybe we will still get it, but he looks worse than last season, which has to be a cause for some concern.
It is still way too early to know what he can be, but it would be nice to see him make some positive strides in the second half so that this season is not a complete write off for his development.