The Detroit Pistons were hoping for a bit more progress out of Sekou Doumbouya in year two, but there were a number of factors working against him.
Doumbouya had a hard time earning minutes off Dwane Casey’s bench, which led to a dip in statistics across the board, which was disappointing considering the flashes he showed in his rookie season.
This has led to speculation that Doumbouya will be traded in the offseason, but unless the offer is right, it is probably too early to give up on a guy this young just because his career has gotten off to a rocky start.
Some of this was not his fault, as he was playing behind veteran Blake Griffin, who the Pistons were trying to showcase so that they might be able to trade him.
It wasn’t enough, and the Detroit Pistons were stuck buying Griffin out, which finally opened up some more minutes for Sekou Doumbouya.
While Doumbouya did play better down the stretch, it’s likely that he would have benefitted from some time in the G-League, especially early in the season, as he would have gotten consistent minutes and had a much bigger role to work on his game.
Detroit Pistons: A season of challenges
Let’s face it, there has never been an NBA season like this one. COVID-19 has thrown the entire world off its axis, including the NBA, which had to shorten the season and play under strict regulations and limitations.
One of those was a truncated G-League that didn’t involve all of the teams, so a lot of young players lost a year of development on the end of their team’s bench when they didn’t have a G-League to send them to.
Doumbouya was probably one of those guys, as people forget he is still just 20-years-old and won’t be 21 until December.
For reference, both Saddiq Bey and Saben Lee are already 22, so it makes sense that Doumbouya is behind them developmentally, even though he has has been in the league a year longer.
He entered the NBA as a raw prospect and he still is, but should he start next season in the G-League or will he be coming off the Detroit Pistons’ bench?