What the Detroit Pistons depth chart should look like right now

The Detroit Pistons lost their 8th in a row last night to the Phoenix Suns and it is time for some changes to the depth chart.

The Pistons did some good things vs. the Suns (most of them by Cade Cunningham), but each one was balanced by something bad, mostly due to the fact that some of their players need new roles or just aren’t very good right now.

Dwane Casey has been slow to make changes to his rotation, but with the season all but over already and the Pistons trying to develop and rebuild, now is the time to put some of these veterans into a rocket ship and launch it into the sun.

Here are some changes I would make to the rotation to maximize development and reward the guys who are actually playing well.

Here’s what the Detroit Pistons depth chart should look like right now

• Killian Hayes–Saben Lee
• Cade Cunningham–Frank Jackson (I wish there was another option here)
• Hamidou Diallo–Saddiq Bey
• Jerami Grant
• Isaiah Stewart–Luka Garza

Here are the changes and my reasons for each:

Saddiq Bey to the bench

Bey is mired in a real funk right now and it is starting to take its toll on his confidence. You could see it last night when he was reluctant to take shots and came up short on the ones he did take. He was hanging his head a bit last night and a move to the bench, where he can have a few more low-pressure shots, may get him going.

Also, Hamidou Diallo has been playing well and was the only Pistons’ bench player last night who did anything. Diallo isn’t much of a threat to score, but neither is Bey at this point and Diallo is at least playing good defense. The Pistons’ starters and Diallo went on a big run last night in the 3rd and it is time to see what he looks like playing more minutes with that group.

Saben Lee over Cory Joseph

I should first say that I am not a huge believer in Saben Lee, as G-League stats mean nothing, but at this point, could he be any worse? If you are trying to showcase CoJo for a trade (good luck), the case is actually being made worse by his play.

Lee has a lot to work on, but at least he plays with pace, has some athleticism and has a snowball’s chance in Hades of finishing at the rim, which CoJo does not.

The Pistons need to get some kind of idea if Lee can be a rotation player in the NBA, and what better time to find out than in the middle of a long losing streak?

There is literally no benefit to playing Joseph at this point.

Bench Trey Lyles

What exactly does this guy do again? He is shooting 28 percent from 3-point range, can’t guard anyone, takes too many shots and in general is not a very good basketball player.

Luka Garza is slow as a three-legged mule but at least he can shoot. He also plays hard and is another guy who the Detroit Pistons need to get a long look at to see if he can be a rotation player in the future.

His defense is not there, but again, could he be any worse? If I have to see Lyles try to go to the rim again this season I am going to puke.

As you can see, this depth chart only has nine players, as there is no reason play 10-11 when you don’t even have nine who deserve minutes.

I’d like to package the Pistons entire bench sans Hamidou for a sack of knockoff jerseys at this point, but someone has to back up Cade and at least Frank Jackson can theoretically shoot the 3-point shot, though there is little evidence of that this season.

The Detroit Pistons aren’t going to be good either way, so it’s time to lean into the youth, see what they have in some of the fringe guys, and quit playing these veterans who are really the biggest part of the problem right now.