Detroit Pistons’ projected starting lineup, depth chart with James Wiseman

The Detroit Pistons surprised some fans at yesterday’s trade deadline by trading Saddiq Bey and Kevin Knox to the Warriors for James Wiseman.

Although Bey being dealt wasn’t completely surprising, as his name had been mentioned in trade rumors for weeks, the return was, as Wiseman adds another center to a team that already has three young ones.

The Pistons reportedly plan on using Wiseman in the starting five, which is a questionable fit, as he hasn’t shown a ton of range offensively and they already have a promising young center in Jalen Duren, who has really taken off as a starter.

Here is the lineup we are likely to see when Wiseman makes his debut, as is has been reported by ESPN (among others) that they plan to use him as the starting center.

• Killian Hayes
• Jaden Ivey
• Bojan Bogdanovic
• Isaiah Stewart
• James Wiseman

With this many question marks around a guy, there are any number of ways that Wiseman could fit into the Pistons’ depth chart. For the purposes of this, I’ll put Cade Cunningham in there even though he won’t be back until next season, as it won’t affect how Wiseman is used, and deal with the future at the end.

Detroit Pistons: Starting lineup and depth chart with James Wiseman

If the Detroit Pistons really plan on using Wiseman as a starter, here is one way that he fits:

• Cade Cunningham/Killian Hayes
• Jaden Ivey/Alec Burks
• Bojan Bogdanovic/Isaiah Livers/Hamidou Diallo
• Isaiah Stewart/Marvin Bagley III
• James Wiseman/Jalen Duren

I don’t see how James Wiseman has done anything to earn a spot over Duren, who has been one of the best rookie bigs in the league and averaging a double double in the starting five.

This does give both units a lob threat and potential for rim protection, though neither Wiseman nor Duren has been great in that area yet. It should make the overall defense better and spreads the athleticism around more.

I don’t see how MBIII and Duren are going to fit together, as they both live in the lane, so this could force Bagley III to the perimeter, where he is atrocious. In other words, I hate this.