Latest B/R report will anger some fans of the Detroit Pistons

The biggest question hanging over the offseason for the Detroit Pistons was whether they did enough to be competitive this season.

We’ll get our first look tonight against the Orlando Magic, another team that is on the border of competition and tanking.

This has caused some amount of division in the fanbase, as some think Detroit should try to win at all costs to get their young players some positive experience and not have to suffer through another 20-win campaign with no hope.

Others think the Pistons should tank at all costs, as they are not a real contender anyway, and there is a generational talent in Victor Wembanyama waiting. Even though a 14 percent chance (at best) isn’t great, it is higher than Detroit’s chances of making the playoffs, so why not be bad for one more season for a chance to land a transformative player?

There are some teams that are clearly tanking this season, but the Detroit Pistons are still on the fringe, so will they end up trading away all of their veterans and trying to tank this season or is this the year the rebuild finally turns a corner?

Detroit Pistons: To tank or not to tank?

According to a recent Bleacher Report article, the Pistons are not among the teams that are definitely tanking for Wembanyama. The article breaks down the “locks” for tanktathon 2022 which include the Jazz, Spurs and Rockets.

The Jazz and Spurs both traded away key players in an effort to go young and the Rockets are already there, though I think they could be frisky offensively this season.

The Detroit Pistons were not even named in the next group which was the “on the fence” crowd that includes the OKC Thunder, who are no stranger to tanking and will probably go that route again after the early injury to Chet Holmgren.

Instead the Pistons are mentioned in the “WTF are you doing” group of teams that probably should tank (according to B/R) but aren’t going to, at least at the beginning of the season.

This group includes the Pistons, Magic, Pacers, Hornets and Kings, all teams that have some intriguing talent but probably not enough to truly compete. Here is what Eric Pincus had to say about Detroit:

"“The Hornets may lose their No. 10 play-in spot to the New York Knicks, Washington Wizards or Pistons. The Detroit Pistons don’t look like they’re tanking, recently adding veteran shooter Bojan Bogdanovic in a trade to further their cause.”"

I’m not sure I agree that the Pistons are going to be competitive for the 10th spot, but it appears that they will at least try, and the trade for Bojan Bogdanovic is pretty solid evidence of it.

This will undoubtedly anger some fans who want Detroit to pack it in right away and just play the young guys in an effort to develop but tank for one more season.

But not to worry, if Detroit is not competitive by the trade deadline, they will start to ship out veterans and that could include Bogdanovic, who may be worth more at midseason than the Pistons gave up to acquire him.

We’ll know soon enough whether Detroit did enough to take the first step towards contention (being competitive) or if Bogdanovic was just future trade fodder for a team that is going to be “Woeful for Wembanyama” this season.

Detroit hasn’t committed to either strategy yet and if they end up somewhere in the middle, there are going to be some displeased fans, especially if the Pistons win just enough games to keep them out of the running for a top pick but still don’t make the play-in.