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.
Detroit Pistons: The battle for backup small forward
I think Saddiq Bey is a lock to be the starting small forward after his impressive rookie season in which he established himself as the Pistons’ best 3-point shooter.
He is also versatile defensively, so he can work in just about any group, so I think Bey will lead the Pistons in total minutes again this season.
The question is who is going to back him up? The Pistons have a couple of combo guard/small forwards in Josh Jackson and Hamidou Diallo who both offer similar skills.
Since both of them are good defenders who can’t shoot, the Pistons may end up choosing one of them and the other could be traded before the deadline.
Jackson would be the most likely to go, as he is on an expiring deal and the Pistons just re-signed Diallo. But if Jackson improves his shot and plays well, the Pistons might try to work both of them into the rotation since they can both play a couple of spots.
This will be a training camp and preseason battle to watch, as both of these guys are fighting for minutes however they can get them.
Detroit Pistons: The battle for backup shooting guard
Whether you want to call Cade Cunningham a point guard or a shooting guard, he is getting one of the starting guard spots and the other is probably Killian Hayes‘ to lose.
If we assume that Killian Hayes is going to be in the starting lineup with Cunningham, at least for the time being, then the backup shooting guard position gets really interesting.
I think there is a strong argument for just about any of the Pistons’ shooting guards to be in the starting five, but Hayes is the lottery pick so is probably going to get first crack at making it work with Cade.
As I said, both Josh Jackson and Hamidou Diallo will get some run at shooting guard depending on who else is out there, especially if the Pistons want to go big with Cade at the point.
Frank Jackson will also be in the mix, as he offers the long-range shooting that neither Josh Jackson or Diallo have shown they can consistently provide.
All three of these guys are going to be battling it out for minutes at the guard spot, and the Pistons will have a lot of possibilities in both the starting and backup units.