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.
Detroit Pistons: Starting lineup and depth chart with James Wiseman
If the Pistons insist on using Wiseman as a starter, there are likely better options than the first one.
Here is one group that could work better and find ways to use players in their more natural positions.
- Cade Cunningham/Killian Hayes
- Jaden Ivey/Alec Burks
- Bojan Bogdanovic/Isaiah Livers/Hamidou Diallo
- James Wiseman/Isaiah Stewart
- Jalen Duren/Marvin Bagley III
I am out on any combination that tries to pigeon-hole Bagley III into the power forward role, as he has shown that he has huge limitations there on both ends.
This group would give the Pistons a lot of size and athleticism in the starting five, and put Stewart and Bagley together off the bench, which may be a better fit.
The Pistons would be big and athletic in the starting five, but may have problems against teams that play small. The question is whether Wiseman and Duren can co-exist, as both are natural centers, though Wiseman has shown some amount of range in his short career.
Can he end up being an Evan Mobley-type for the Detroit Pistons? If so, he’ll need to improve his range, get better at handling the ball and be more of a rim protector than he has shown in limited action.
Of the options, this one seems to be the best way to utilize the skills of their various big men, though there are still a lot of questions about fit and role.
Detroit Pistons: Starting lineup and depth chart with James Wiseman
There is a third option, which may be the least appealing one, and will require the Detroit Pistons to use their new acquisition off the bench.
- Cade Cunningham/Killian Hayes
- Jaden Ivey/Alec Burks
- Bojan Bogdanovic/Isaiah Livers/Hamidou Diallo
- Isaiah Stewart/James Wiseman
- Jalen Duren/Marvin Bagley III
Puke. The idea of having Wiseman and MBIII on the floor together at the same time is not appealing, as they are similar players. It’s possible they will never be healthy at the same time anyway, so this could be a moot point, but you can see why the Pistons envision Wiseman as a starter, as his fit with either Stewart or Duren is much easier to visualize.
This combination shows the challenge coach Dwane Casey is going to have with the players the Pistons already have, but what about the future?
Detroit Pistons: Starting lineup and depth chart with James Wiseman
This season isn’t far from being over for the Detroit Pistons, as they aren’t going to be featured in the playoffs and will be pivoting to the draft and free agency before we know it.
The fit with Wiseman this season doesn’t really matter much, as Detroit stinks and will likely continue to stink, so coach Casey has the rest of the year to start to figure out how different players fit together and I am sure there will be plenty of experimenting.
But the Pistons hope to add a top pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, hopefully a guy who can at least compete for a starting role, and if they get super lucky and land a top-2 pick or fall and land one of the top wings, that player could be a starter right away.
If the Pistons were lucky enough to land Victor Wembanyama, then he is immediately going to be a starter and the fit is a problem they are hoping to have. But what becomes of Wiseman? Stewart? Bagley III? The Pistons would suddenly have too many bigs and need to move guys that have little to no trade value right now. Again, this is the problem we all wish for.
But what if Detroit drops from their current spot, ends up with a pick in the 4-7 range and grabs the best wing available? That could push Bojan Bogdanovic to his more natural position at power forward and then the Pistons potentially have three bigs trying to come off the bench.
The fit with Wiseman is even more questionable moving forward whether Detroit gets lucky or not, so the Saddiq Bey trade is going to get even more complicated in the future. It’s hard to judge anything until we see how it works out, but right now Detroit has a bunch of players who aren’t great fits together and it could get worse.