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?
Detroit Pistons: Sekou Doumbouya should start in the G-League
The biggest argument for starting Sekou Doumbouya in the G-League is his age and relative lack of experience.
Like I said, he is still only 20, so there will be plenty of guys coming out of this year’s draft who are already older than Doumbouya and have been playing high-level basketball for much longer.
If Doumbouya were in this draft, I don’t think he’d be a lottery pick, but he’d likely go in the top-20 again and would enter the league as a project player, which is still how we should view him.
The Detroit Pistons will start Jerami Grant at power forward, Isaiah Stewart will play some there and Doumbouya will also be competing with Tyler Cook. This could leave Sekou as the odd man out again, so if he is not going to get consistent minutes off the bench, then he may as well go a place where he will.
Doumbouya should be able to dominate in the G-League and it would be a good test to see if he can, because if he can’t, he might not have a place on this roster.
Sending him there to start the season will let him get his reps without being under a constant microscope and having fans constantly questioning whether he should be getting more minutes or whether he is a “bust” every time he misses a few shots.
He can get his confidence up against lesser competition that is still NBA talent and allow him to work on his game without the pressure of worrying about being benched every time he has a bad game.
Detroit Pistons: Sekou Doumbouya should start on the bench
The argument for keeping him as a bench player on the Detroit Pistons is that the Pistons need to know what they have in this guy and the only way to find out is to see him play against the best.
Defense is practically non-existent in the G-League, so Doumbouya would probably rack up big numbers, which might be good for his confidence, but doesn’t really give the Detroit Pistons an accurate read on whether he can play in the NBA.
Also, if Doumbouya can’t beat out Tyler Cook for minutes, it might be time to move on. Sekou is the last remaining player from the previous era, and Troy Weaver doesn’t have the kind of attachment he might have if he had drafted Doumbouya himself.
We know Weaver isn’t afraid to pull the trigger on moves, so throwing Doumbouya into the mix to see what he can do is the only way to know if he is a long-term project or a guy the Pistons should trade.
If Doumbouya improves over the offseason, he could easily be the first forward off the bench for the Pistons, which would be huge, as it would be another guy they could consider part of the the young core with Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Cade Cunningham (assuming the Pistons draft him).
I think there are solid arguments for either option, but ultimately, I’d like to see Sekou Doumbouya get a shot to earn minutes off the Pistons’ bench and not running around the G-League.
It will be better for his development and will also give the Detroit Pistons a better understanding of his future with the team.