Detroit Pistons: Kelly Olynyk will stretch the floor in Detroit
The Detroit Pistons were one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the NBA last season. The team ranked 22nd in the league in both three-pointers made and three-point shooting percentage. The team as a whole shot 35.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Out of 12 players who averaged 20 or more minutes per game as a Piston last season, only four shot above 36 percent on three-pointers. One of those four players, Wayne Ellington left for the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency.
Of the remaining three players, Cory Joseph and Saddiq Bey are under contract heading into next season. Hamidou Diallo is expected to re-sign with Detroit after the team extended the qualifying offer to him prior to the start of free agency, making him a restricted free agent.
Olynyk immediately adds an additional outside shooter to the Pistons roster. The 30-year-old is a career 36.7 percent three-point shooter. Olynyk has made 1.4 or more threes per game for the past four seasons.
Olynyk is a versatile big man. He can play either the four or the five effectively. This will allow head coach Dwane Casey a lot of flexibility with incorporating Olynyk into the team’s lineups.
The 30-year-old can come off the bench and spell Stewart as a stretch big or play alongside the 20-year-old defensive phenom at the power forward position,
No matter what position Olynyk is playing in Detroit’s rotations, the big man’s shooting abilities will be a tremendous help to the team’s offense.
Alongside this year’s first overall pick, Cade Cunningham, Olynyk’s shooting will provide added versatility as a pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop threat.
Olynyk’s ability to shoot from the perimeter will also clear space in the paint for Cunningham and Jerami Grant to go to work as isolation scorers. Cunningham and Grant will benefit greatly by having Olynyk as a solid catch-and-shoot threat on outlet passes.
Olynyk provides floor spacing for Detroit that Plumlee never could. Last season in Detroit, Plumlee attempted just seven shot attempts from beyond the arc, making none of them. Comparatively, Olynyk shot 368 three-pointers last season.
The 30-year-old Olynyk may provide much-needed floor spacing, but the loss of Plumlee removes a good playmaker from Detroit’s roster.