The Detroit Pistons have one of the worst records in the NBA, yet their season has been a rousing success.
Their team goals were to wipe the slate clean of aging veterans (check), develop their young talent (check) and finish in the bottom-3 of the NBA (nearly check).
The Pistons sit alone with the second-worst record with just two games to go, and if they lose them both, they are guaranteed no lower than the 6th pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
Finishing second worst would give them a 52.1 percent chance at a top-four pick and 14 percent chance at the number one pick overall.
I should say that I am not a big fan of tanking and there isn’t a lot of evidence that it leads to titles. A lot of people have been congratulating the 76ers this season, but it has taken them seven plus years to get where they are, and they still haven’t even made the Finals.
But if you are going to tank, the Detroit Pistons are doing it the right way, and this season has been an absolute masterclass in how tanking should be done.
Detroit Pistons: If you are going to tank, embrace it early
One thing I’ve love about this season is that the Pistons made it clear early on that they were tanking. They tried to find homes for Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin as soon as possible and we able to get the two veterans off the roster, though in Griffin’s case, not yet off the payroll.
If you look at the other teams at the bottom of the NBA, nearly all of them had notions of making the playoffs this season. Houston, Minnesota, Cleveland and Orlando all thought they might be playoff contenders at the beginning of the season, so their tanks came out of necessity, not by design.
Because of that, their seasons have to be considered failures, while Detroit actually achieved all of their goals. If you are going to tank, at least have a plan. Troy Weaver definitely does and has executed it flawlessly in his first season.
Detroit never had to resort to embarrassing losing streaks or playing guys who weren’t trying, but just tanked naturally with a goal in mind. It didn’t destroy morale or develop bad habits in the young guys, so this season has to be considered a success.
Detroit Pistons: Tank with purpose
There is nothing worse than watching a tanking team that has no point.
The Detroit Pistons have spent the season getting valuable reps for rookies Killian Hayes, Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart, who are playing hard and learning the game.
I love the fact that they’ve been competing all season and didn’t have to resort to giving up to complete their tank. I don’t care how good they are, no team is going to win running with three rookies, but you can have success without winning games.
The Pistons have two rookies likely to make the All-Rookie team, Killian Hayes, who has been very good the last few games and Saben Lee, who has also shown flashes of being a future rotation player.
If you look at the tanking teams, the Detroit Pistons are really the only one other than OKC who has managed to lose games while developing young talent. I know Houston technically has a high-performing “rookie” but he is 25-years-old.
There is a big difference between losing with young guys who are the future of the team than there is losing with mediocre veterans who might not even be in the league next season.
All of the Pistons’ rookies have improved this season and will now have a full offseason of training and work to get even better.
The Pistons have the foundation of their team and already got them a year of seasoning, which is more than any of the other tanking teams can say.
Detroit Pistons: The fans are back!
The best part of the season for me is watching fans of the Detroit Pistons excited about watching basketball again.
It has been a miserable decade, let’s face it, and it was hard to watch this team over that span, as they were floundering, never had a plan and inexplicably kept trying to win with veteran players who were either way past their prime or never had one.
Fans were so weary of the purgatory that was the Andre Drummond/Blake Griffin era, as the team was never good enough to compete, nor bad enough to get a top pick and bring some hope.
Even though this team has only won 20 games, I’ve not seen fans this engaged since the Goin’ to Work era, when the team was actually good.
The Detroit Pistons are a great franchise with strong fans and a deep history but eventually you have to give fans a reason to care, especially in a poor economy in the midst of a pandemic.
Fans weren’t allowed to attend many games this season but they are more engaged than ever before and I predict they will return in droves when it’s finally safe.
Seeing a competent front office achieving its goals in the first season has given us hope for the first time in a long time.
With a bunch of young talent and more hopefully on the way, the Detroit Pistons have a bright future that has united the fans and brought some excitement back to Detroit.
THAT, is how you tank.