Detroit Pistons news: Motor City Cruise are a bust so far

The Detroit Pistons are in the midst of another rebuilding/developmental season, and were hoping to develop players across both their NBA and G-League rosters.

Teams like Toronto have used the G-League successfully to develop players who weren’t quite ready, and it is part of the reason they have been so sustainably successful.

So far the Detroit Pistons haven’t gotten much from their G-League affiliate, and things aren’t optimistic for this season either.

Most teams are never going to develop a Fred VanVleet or Pascal Siakam in the G-League, but you would hope a young, rebuilding team like the Pistons, who have been ravaged by injuries, might find someone who was at least worth a look.

It doesn’t look like that is going to happen, as the Motor City Cruise are one of the worst teams in the G-League and don’t currently have a player who the Detroit Pistons think can contribute at the NBA level.

Detroit Pistons: The Motor City Cruise stink

There’s no real way to sugarcoat it, the Motor City Cruise have stunk this season. They are currently tied for the worst record in the G-League at 3-13, and have the 25th ranked offense and 23rd ranked defense.

They are shooting just 42 percent from the floor as a team and a miserable 29.7 percent from 3-point range in a league where defense is a secondary thought. There are several teams in the G-League that shoot over 50 percent as a team, which makes the Cruise’s numbers look even worse.

Their best player, Braxton Key, is 25-years-old and their second two-way contract, Buddy Boeheim, is a “sharpshooter” who hits just 34 percent of his 3-point shots. The Cruise only have one player shooting over 35 percent from long range, 28-year-old ShawnDre Jones, a six-foot guard who is hitting 37 percent.

The one bright spot has been a few highlights from Ryan Turell, who is more of a sideshow at this point than a guy who has a real chance to make the NBA.

It’s probably not a good sign if too many G-League players can make your NBA roster, so the fact that none of these players look NBA-ready is not shocking, but what you hope is that they are developing skills and playing sound basketball while learning and succeeding within your team’s system.

So far that is not happening, so don’t expect any players from the Cruise to be walking through the doors of Little Caesar’s Arena anytime soon.