The Detroit Pistons will enter training camp and the preseason with plenty of excitement and question marks.
Training camp starts on September 28th with the preseason following closely behind, so we are getting close to real Detroit Pistons basketball as impossible as that may seem.
The Pistons have some new faces in rookie Cade Cunningham and power forward/center Kelly Olynyk and they hope to build on the solid young foundation they established last season even though they only won 20 games.
Only Cunningham, Jerami Grant and Saddiq Bey are written in ink in the starting lineup, and the bench is even more up in the air, which is why there will be some great positional battles during training camp and preseason this year.
Detroit Pistons: The battle for 3rd center
Luka Garza is the frontrunner to claim the 3rd center spot behind Kelly Olynyk and Isaiah Stewart, but it won’t be handed to him.
Dwane Casey has a lot of lineup possibilities, as both Stewart and Olynyk can play some power forward and Trey Lyles might even get some action at center in small-ball lineups if he shoots the ball well.
The Pistons might decide not to even have a third center on the roster, but after the way Garza impressed at Summer League, he’ll get every chance to make it.
The Pistons still have an open roster spot, so would just have to change Garza’s two-way deal into a full-time contract, but if they decide to keep him where he is, they might just roll without a third center and see what happens.