Isaiah Stewart and Saddiq Bey came into the season looking to build on their All-Rookie campaigns for the Detroit Pistons and both have been successful.
Stewart is finishing the season strong, while Bey has evolved into one of the Pistons’ primary scoring options and a guy that is clearly part of the foundation of the restoration.
They’ve both hit bumps along the way but have undoubtedly improved under the tutelage of coach Dwane Casey, who seemed to have a specific plan for each guy this season.
Improvement is rarely linear and not every player follows the same developmental path, which is definitely true of Isaiah Stewart and Saddiq Bey.
Detroit Pistons: A year for development
The Detroit Pistons entered the season with optimism, but even the most naive among us knew that this was likely another developmental season in the Motor City.
With a starting five featuring four players who are 22 or younger, the Pistons weren’t expected to be contenders this season.
Instead, they have leaned into player development, getting huge minutes for Stewart, Bey, Cade Cunningham and Killian Hayes, allowing them to improve at their own pace and showing worlds of patience along the way.
I have to give Dwane Casey credit. This is a veteran coach who has basically thrown away his career win-loss record to help make this franchise better. All of Detroit’s young players have improved, there has been no drama, they all seem to like each other and they play hard for their coach.
You can quibble about Casey’s rotations or schemes but there is no denying that the guy is a leader who sacrificed his personal stats for the long-term health of the franchise.
Instead of chasing wins as most coaches do, Casey has bought-in to player development and has been a steady hand and mentor for this young team.
This has been particularly true for Stewart and Bey, who have taken very different approaches to their development this season.