Pistons are rebuilding but their age is surprising

When you think of teams that are in the middle of a rebuild, most fans assume it would be composed of a bunch of young kids, learning on the job, gaining experience for future success. However, the Detroit Pistons average age might surprise you.

Pistons general manager Troy Weaver has always stated that he wants veterans on the team, even if the club is not in the playoff hunt.

His reasoning is simple: These young players have no idea what it is like to be an NBA player, and we are not talking just on the court. Most of them came from college and high school ball, where they have to go (in theory) to classes, and are supervised.

When you get to the NBA, it’s like any job. You have to take care of yourself and you are on your own. Now, the league and the players association do set up informational sessions for new players, but they can only do so much. NBA players, even if 18 years old, like Jalen Duren, are adults and are now responsible fully for their own actions.

So Weaver wants some vets, ones with high character, to serve as role models for the younger players. This way, someone who knows the ways of the NBA, and conducts themselves in a professional manner, is always around them.

Heck, the biggest reason Rodney McGruder is on the team, is being such a great influence in the locker room (although he actually does pretty well the rare times he gets in a game).

But the future of the Pistons does not rely on older veterans, its the young players they hope will blossom into major contributors and, in some cases, like Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey, all-stars.

Fans are continually told how young this team is, that 10 of the 15 players on the roster are 24 or younger. That is why it was a bit surprising, when the NBA averaged out each team by age, the Pistons were not near the bottom:

Who would have thought the New York Knicks are actually younger, on average, than the Pistons? The Knicks are in ‘win now’ mode and have vets like Derrick Rose, so that they are so young is unexpected.

Detroit is ninth even though it has the youngest player in the league, in Duren (turns 19 on November 18). They are not an old team like the Lakers or Milwaukee Bucks (the oldest team in NBA), but they are not rock bottom.

The list shows that even if a team might be ‘rebuilding’ or simply ‘tanking’ does not mean all the players are 19- or 20-year-olds.

The Utah Jazz are 14th in age, middle of the pack, yet they are certainly not trying to win (although they are doing a bad job of losing games at the moment). The Memphis Grizzlies are one of the youngest teams, but they have hopes of making noise in the Western Conference playoffs.

So age is not everything, but it is still interesting that such a youth-focused team as the Pistons are only the ninth-youngest team.

Why are the Detroit Pistons not that young as a team?

The Pistons have four players over 31: Bojan Bogdanovic, Cory Joseph, McGruder and Alec Burks. Nerlens Noel is 28-years-old. Maybe part of the Pistons early problems is that two of its most experienced players, Noel and Burks, have yet to play.

While Weaver prizes having veterans, it is not like he has made a long term commitment to any of them. All five of the ‘old heads’ have their contracts either expiring at the end of this season or just have a team option for next year. That means the Pistons have the flexibility to not have any of them return, if they so choose.

The Pistons are young, particularly among its core players, but they are not a Kiddie Korps. There are eight other NBA teams that are, on average, younger, so  the excuse of ‘hey, they’re young’ can only go so far.