The Detroit Pistons just pulled off one of their more entertaining seasons in recent history, largely because of the play of their rookies.
It really was a masterclass in tanking, as the Pistons played competitive games while getting their young players a ton of minutes and bringing some excitement back to the city of Detroit.
You couldn’t really ask for much more in the first year of a rebuild and the Pistons are not only setting themselves up for long-term success but have enough talent to make the playoffs next season with the right offseason moves.
The “Core Four” of Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart, Killian Hayes and Saben Lee did not disappoint, and the Pistons even got a glimpse of Deividas Sirvydis, who showed some flashes of what he can do.
Here are the grades for each Detroit Pistons’ rookie after their debut season.
Detroit Pistons rookie grades: Deividas Sirvydis
It’s tough to give Sirvydis a grade, as he only appeared in 20 games, mostly in a few minutes of mop-up duty.
The truth is that Sirvydis probably wouldn’t have played a single minute for the Detroit Pistons had there been a full G-League, and it is shame, as players like him were really robbed of a season of development due to COVID-19.
He had his best game recently against the Denver Nuggets, scoring 16 in the first half and showing an impressive array of offensive weapons.
We still have no idea what position (if any) he can defend, nor if he is big or strong enough to hold up for an NBA season, but the kid can score, we know that.
But we have to see much more before we can know what he’ll be and I assume he’ll spend a good chunk of next season fine-tuning and getting stronger in the G-League.