The Detroit Pistons have 3 of the pieces teams need to be good

The Detroit Pistons are not a good basketball team and I don’t think that’s a hot take.

I am Homer #1 but the Pistons are quantifiably bad right now and have been for the last 2+ seasons.

They’ve lost eight of nine games, have the second-worst record in the NBA and may end up at the bottom of the league before it is all over.

I thought they would be marginally better this season, but am not surprised it turned out this way, as it is tough to win in the NBA with a young team, and the Pistons weren’t in the financial position to make the kinds of moves last offseason that they would have needed to be good.

But that doesn’t mean the cupboards are bare either, as I think Troy Weaver’s vision is starting to take shape and that the Pistons already have some of the pieces that are required for sustained success.

Their roster isn’t full of stars (yet) but Detroit has some of the parts that are difficult to acquire, so may make the leap sooner than you might think.

The Detroit Pistons have low-contract players who produce

One of the commonalities of good teams (especially ones that aren’t deep into the luxury tax) is that they have players on low-ball contracts who produce.

The Pistons have seemingly found two of those in Frank Jackson and Hamidou Diallo, who have both proven themselves to be valuable players who aren’t making a ton of money (by NBA standards).

Jackson is making $3 million this season and putting up double-digit numbers off the bench, and Diallo is making just over $5 million and also scoring in double figures.

All teams are looking for a “Big 3” of stars who are all likely to be on max contracts, but having quality depth is also important and it’s tough to do both while staying out of the luxury tax.

Having low-cost contracts is crucial (especially for mid-market teams like Detroit) as it allows you to have quality depth after spending most of your money on those three stars.