What will Pistons’ depth chart look like without Jerami Grant?

The Detroit Pistons are already on an 11-game losing streak and then last night got the news that leading scorer Jerami Grant is out indefinitely with torn thumb ligaments.

Things just went from bad to worse for the Detroit Pistons, who are already the league’s worst team:

Not only do the Pistons lose their best overall player but also their best potential trade piece, as rumors had already started to circulate that the Pistons would look to trade Grant before the deadline.

The Pistons were already thin on NBA talent and now coach Dwane Casey will have to try to piece together a depth chart without the guy who leads the team in minutes.

Coach Casey is certainly earning his paycheck this season. There has been some chatter about Casey being fired, but to be honest, there is not a coach in the history of the NBA who could win with this roster.

So what will the  Pistons depth chart look like without Jerami Grant? There are a couple of options.

Pistons depth chart: Going big without Jerami Grant

This would not be my first choice, but I have a feeling this is the starting lineup and backups we’ll see for at least a few games:

• Killian Hayes/Cory Joseph
• Cade Cunningham/Frank Jackson
• Saddiq Bey/Hamidou Diallo
• Trey Lyles/Josh Jackson
• Isaiah Stewart /Luka Garza

The Pistons would love to replace Jerami Grant with another NBA power forward and Trey Lyles is the closest thing they have. The Detroit bench has been a disaster this season, but at least Lyles is an adult I guess.

Josh Jackson could be the beneficiary of more minutes as well, which means this team is going to struggle even more to score points, which almost seems impossible considering they still don’t average 100 points per game.

That’s why I’d prefer if Dwane Casey got a little more creative.

Pistons Depth chart: Could Hamidou Diallo move into a starting role?

Hamidou Diallo is one of the few Pistons’ bench guys who has been playing well lately, so I’d prefer coach Casey to move him into the starting five to give the Pistons a smaller, faster and more athletic lineup.

• Killian Hayes/Cory Joseph
• Cade Cunningham/Frank Jackson
• Hamidou Diallo/Josh Jackson
• Saddiq Bey/Trey Lyles
• Isaiah Stewart/Luka Garza

This would push Saddiq Bey to power forward, which is a position he has shown he can defend. I actually like this for Bey, as he has the size and strength to guard bigs but often gets cooked on the perimeter by quicker guards and wings.

Both Cade Cunningham and Hamidou Diallo are plus rebounders for their position and this might actually improve the overall team rebounding, as Jerami Grant is below average for a power forward.

This gives the Detroit starting lineup some added athleticism and might lead to some easier buckets in transition, though they are going to struggle mightily in the half court with only one real scoring threat.

Pistons depth chart: Trying to improve the offense by going small

The Pistons could just go small, move Cade Cunningham to the wing on defense and try to inject some shooting into the starting lineup.

• Killian Hayes/Cory Joseph
• Frank Jackson
• Cade Cunningham/Hamidou Diallo
• Saddiq Bey/Josh Jackson
• Isaiah Stewart/Trey Lyles

This tightens the rotation to just nine players, which is probably something Detroit needed to do anyway.

It moves Frank Jackson into the starting lineup where he can provide a 3-point threat to spread the floor (theoretically) and moves Cade to the wing on defense. This whole rotation is smaller, with only one real center in the mix, but takes advantage of what are the Detroit’s best nine players with Jerami Grant out.

None of these lineups are ideal and the Pistons are going to struggle without their leading scorer, but it will at least give Detroit the chance to try guys in extended/different roles to see how they might fit for the future.

It’s not much of a bright side, but right now, it’s all I’ve got.