Detroit Pistons: Revisiting preseason questions with James Edwards III

Who will be the odd man out of the Detroit Pistons’ rotation?

James’ answer then:

"“When everybody is healthy I think Frank Jackson and Josh Jackson earn the backup wing minutes over Hamidou Diallo. Not that Hamidou played bad, I just think the other two popped a little bit more and are bringing more of what Casey is looking for right now. Saben Lee, I think it’s going to be tough for him to find minutes with Corey Joseph, Killian and Cade…”"

The reality:

This was somewhat right, as Frank Jackson has seized a role in the rotation and Saben Lee has found it difficult to find minutes. However, Diallo has definitely separated himself from Josh Jackson, who was recently traded in the Marvin Bagley III deal. Jackson never panned out in Detroit  and the preseason optimism many of us had was quickly vanquished.

What has been the biggest surprise of the Pistons’ preseason?

James’ answer then:

"“Josh Jackson’s decision-making has been great, for the most part. I really liked some of the passes he’s made, the extra pass. He’s playing very simple. He’s still being Josh Jackson and being aggressive and scoring the ball, but he’s toned down on some of his turnovers by making the right read and not trying to force as much as he has in the past.” “Trey Lyles has looked good, obviously as a floor spacer but putting the ball on the floor and making things happen has been, I’m sure for Dwane Casey, good to see. Frank Jackson is picking up where he left off last year scoring the ball. Jerami Grant looks comfortable and confident in his role. He knows where he’s at in his career, what the team needs and what he is able to do with a year under his belt.”"

The reality:
Like I said, many of us thought Josh Jackson was going to make the leap this season but he quickly reverted back to poor decision making, turnovers and bad shots, which is why he was shipped out. This once again proves how meaningless preseason can be, as Jackson looked to be cleaning up his issues but that didn’t carry into the regular season.

James was one of the only people to hype Trey Lyles, which turned out to be a good call, as he was pretty good off the Pistons’ bench for a stretch.

While Grant might have looked comfortable in his role in the preseason, that has somewhat changed as the season has gone on, mainly because of the injury that kept him out for most of the season. Grant’s role on this team is still one of the big questions hanging over the season and upcoming offseason.