The Detroit Pistons just completed a rebuilding season that most fans would consider a success.
The Pistons were able to shed some of their veterans, develop young talent and bring some excitement back to the city.
It was a masterclass in tanking, led by GM Troy Weaver, who has already shown he has an eye for talent is not afraid to be aggressive to go after it.
The first-year GM was very busy this season, making a flurry of deals that would leave Sekou Doumbouya as the only leftover player from the last regime.
Weaver wanted a clean slate and he got it, and now he can build this team in his own vision, and already has a pretty good start with rookies Killian Hayes, Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart.
Weaver’s first season was impressive, and almost every move he made paid off in some way.
Some transactions worked out better than others though, so here are the grades for every front office transaction of the 2020-21 season for the Detroit Pistons.
Detroit Pistons: Grading every transaction of 2020-21
Troy Weaver had a busy month of November, making a bunch of moves that made varying degrees of sense at the time. Some of them turned out well, while others are still a bit baffling.
November 18, 2020- Traded Cash to the Utah Jazz for Tony Bradley and Saben Lee
This didn’t look like much at the time, but ended up being a great move for Detroit, as they got Saben Lee for nothing more than a sack of cash. He ended up playing big minutes for the Pistons due to injury and even started seven games. Lee now looks like part of the future core.
Grade: A
November 19, 2020- Traded Luke Kennard, Bruce Brown and four second round picks for Saddiq Bey and Rodney McGruder
This trade got complicated and probably caused more outrage on Pistons’ Twitter than any other move, but not from me! I was ecstatic to see the back of Luke Kennard, who never should have been chosen, hasn’t been anything in the NBA and is now making $16 million to come off the bench and score 8 points a game. Saddiq Bey is already better, so this one worked out well for Detroit. Fans were SO UPSET over the four second-round picks, which again, was dumb, as second rounders are the easiest asset to get in the NBA. The Pistons have three of them in the upcoming draft.
The only loss here was Bruce Brown, who had a nice season in Brooklyn, but he was destined to be a role player on a good team, not a key part of a bad one, so I am happy for Bruce, but not concerned that the Pistons let him go. This one worked out pretty well for Detroit, who cut some of the dead weight from the former regime and got a foundational piece of the future.
Grade: A+
Detroit Pistons: Grading every transaction of 2020-21
The next three moves all came in quick succession and had Pistons’ fans in mixed state of confusion and excitement.
November 20, 2020- Traded Tony Snell and Khyri Thomas to the Atlanta Hawks for Dewayne Dedmon.
This one was just a move to get out from Tony Snell’s contract and the Pistons attached Thomas to make it work. I never really understood this move, as the Pistons decided to waive and stretch Dedmon’s contract instead of just playing him. I thought he could be a useful piece and was surprised they chose this route. Snell just completed the first 50/40/100 season in NBA history (no, really) for the Hawks, though it was in limited minutes. Thomas did enough with Houston to earn himself a future contract. The Detroit Pistons will be paying Dedmon $2.8 million per year for the next four years. This move didn’t make sense then and I still don’t get it, as they could have just kept Snell for one more season and gotten him off the books.
Grade: D
November 22, 2020- Traded cash to the Denver Nuggets for Jerami Grant and Nikola Radičević.
Woo Hoo!!
This ended up being a sign-and-trade after Grant chose the Pistons over the Nuggets, who were offering the exact same money. This was a huge win for Detroit, as it’s rare for them to win a war for a free agent and Grant ended up being the value signing of the offseason, as he blew up, put up over 22 points per game and will probably finish second in the Most Improved Player award race this season. He’s very good, wants to be in Detroit and is going to speed up the rebuild. Jerami Grant predicted the Pistons would do “big things” next season and I agree.Well done, Troy.
Grade: A++
November 23, 2020- Traded Tony Bradley to the Philadelphia 76ers for Zhaire Smith.
Didn’t get this one either, especially after the Pistons waived and stretched Smith as well. Smith got my dream job, paid $3.2 million not to work and ended up in the G-League. I actually thought Smith could be a player and the Pistons should have at least given him a shot instead of paying him to go away. Also, why not just keep Tony Bradley? He was making the same as they paid Smith to not play, had a decent season for the Thunder and is only 23-years-old. This one was a head-scratcher for me. The only reason it doesn’t get an F is that the stakes were very low so who really cares?
Grade: D
Detroit Pistons: Grading every transaction of 2020-21
The next move was one that many fans of the Detroit Pistons did not like at the time, but was the first of many “Troy Weaver is smarter than you” moments that eventually looked very good.
November 24, 2020- Traded Christian Wood, a 2021 1st round draft pick and a 2021 2nd round draft pick to the Houston Rockets for Trevor Ariza, Isaiah Stewart, cash and a 2027 2nd round draft pick.
Pistons’ fans were psychotic about Christian Wood, but he was another guy I wasn’t all that sad to see go. He had a nice season in Houston on a very bad team and put up a bunch of empty stats just like he did in Detroit. He does not fit the mold of what Troy Weaver is building because he can’t defend and you aren’t going to step on the floor for the Pistons in the Weaver-era if you can’t. You know who can defend? Isaiah Stewart, aka Beef Stew, a guy who is now a fan favorite, should make the All-Rookie team and is a building block of the rebuild. If you think Wood is better, great, but I’ll take a versatile defender and rebounder who will eventually have a reliable 3-point shot any day of the week over whatever Wood is.
Grade: A
November 27, 2020: Traded Ariza for Delon Wright
This trade involved a lot more players but this was essentially the gist of it for the Detroit Pistons. The Trevor Ariza era was exactly three days and then they shipped him out for Delon Wright, who proved to be a pretty good player for the Pistons. The Pistons eventually traded Wright for Cory Joseph and a second-round pick, so they essentially turned Trevor Ariza into a second-round pick and cap space, which isn’t bad.
Grade: B+
Detroit Pistons: Grading every transaction of 2020-21
The free agent portion of the offseason was probably the part that caused the most consternation among fans of the Detroit Pistons, as it seemed as though they might have overpaid for guys who weren’t very good. Once again, Troy Weaver had the last laugh.
December 1, 2020- Signed Mason Plumlee, Wayne Ellington, Jahlil Okafor and Josh Jackson as free agents
I can’t remember a single Pistons’ fan who was excited about any of these moves at the time, but all worked out pretty well for the Pistons. It turns out that Plumlee is actually pretty good and ended up being one of the best value signings of the offseason. He averaged nearly a double-double, was 3rd in the NBA in assists for centers and was a good mentor to the young bigs. Wayne Ellington was one of the best shooters in the NBA this season. Okafor was a serviceable 3rd center and Josh Jackson somewhat rebuilt his value by being the Pistons’ best bench player.
Even though Jackson has some huge flaws in his game, he played good defense, was tough and looks like a guy who the Pistons can at least flip for a pick at some point next season. Plumlee is also a trade asset or reliable, low-cost backup, so the Detroit Pistons gave up little and added guys who are now assets. We are stupid, Troy Weaver is smart.
Grade: B+
December 27, 2020- Signed Frank Jackson to a two-way contract
This was one of my favorite offseason moves, as I have long been a fan of Frank Jackson’s game. He got his chance in the second half of the season and made the most of it, going from an afterthought to the Pistons’ best bench scorer. He has a little of that “instant offense” of a guy like Jordan Clarkson after improving his outside shooting. Jackson now looks like a guy the Pistons should sign to a full time contract next season. It worked out well for both sides.
Grade: A-
Detroit Pistons: Grading every transaction of 2020-21
In the final group of transactions, the Detroit Pistons said goodbye to some veterans and started the new era of Pistons basketball. This is now Troy Weaver’s team to build.
February 8, 2021- Traded Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks for Dennis Smith and a 2021 2nd round draft pick.
After a lot of talk, the Pistons finally traded Derrick Rose to the Knicks for Dennis Smith Jr. and a second-round pick. I actually thought this was a pretty good haul for the veteran and most importantly, sent him to a team he wanted to play for. Rose had nothing but good things to say about Detroit, so the Pistons picked up some positive PR in this trade that might help them get a free agent down the road. It wasn’t a blockbuster, but the Pistons got to take a flyer on DSJ (pass) and picked up more draft assets for a guy who was leaving anyway. I thought Rose should have been traded sooner, which would be the only reason this grade is so low.
Grade: B-
March 5, 2021: Pistons buy out Blake Griffin and waive him
Blake Griffin was terrible for the Detroit Pistons this season, so even though his salary will destroy their cap for another season, it was good to see him go. Griffin didn’t endear himself to Pistons’ fans by immediately playing better for the Nets, but who cares? He was never going to be good with Detroit, so I wish him well and he did give the Pistons some extra cap space next season, which he didn’t have to. This wasn’t Weaver’s fault, but he got stuck dealing with it. I hope Tom Gores remembers the sting of paying someone $30 million for nothing, as he was the primary reason the Pistons ended up making the disastrous, awful, terrible trade for Griffin in the first place.
Grade: C
March 13, 2021- Traded Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and a 2027 2nd round draft pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Hamidou Diallo.
I loved this move because it gave the Pistons the chance to get a look at a much higher ceiling talent than Mykhailiuk, who was not having a good season in Detroit. Diallo is an ascending player who fits the Weaver mold as a long, athletic defender, and he had a couple of huge game for the Pistons. He also got hurt and we’ll have to see if and how much he re-signs for, but this looked like a calculated move to get some talent without giving much up.
Grade: B
March 25, 2021- Traded Delon Wright to the Sacramento Kings for Cory Joseph, a 2021 2nd round draft pick and a 2024 2nd round draft pick.
This was a move that looked good at the time and looks even better now. Joseph was actually pretty good for Detroit, and if it weren’t for his massive guaranteed salary, they might keep him. Not only did they get an equally good player for Wright, but picked up some cap space if they waive Joseph in the offseason and grabbed two second-round picks as well. This was a home run of a deal for Wright, who was good in Detroit but is a career backup who was not part of the future plans.
Grade: A
The Detroit Pistons also made some minor moves like signing Tyler Cook, but those were the bulk of their front office transactions for the 2020-21 season. As you can see, most of them were great and the only really “bad” moves were ones that were leftovers from the last regime.
Troy Weaver had a lights out first season and I can’t wait to see what he will do in the NBA Draft and free agency this year.