Detroit Pistons: Troy Weaver betting big on Bogdanovic and offseason
Troy Weaver wasn’t as active at the trade deadline as some fans were hoping, but he did ship out both Saddiq Bey and Kevin Knox while bringing James Wiseman to the Detroit Pistons.
This move will not make or break Weaver’s time in Detroit, as not much has changed. The Pistons were a bad team hoping for lottery luck and quality free agents before, and they still are.
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But during the trade deadline, reports leaked that the Pistons planned on keeping Bojan Bogdanovic around and that they hoped to be “great next year.”
Greatness is probably a little too much to hope for for a team that is sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, but the Pistons do need to make some kind of improvements next season or Troy Weaver’s seat could start to get hot. We’re not there yet, but next season was always the target for being competitive, so if we are counting losses as wins again next season, there will be rumbles about Weaver’s job.
He has somewhat staked that job on continued production of Bojan Bogdanovic as well as the upcoming offseason.
Detroit Pistons: Swapping out Saddiq Bey for Bojan Bogdanovic
Saddiq Bey losing his job to a guy who is a decade older was not something most fans would have predicted at the start of this season, but that is pretty much what happened.
Neither guy can defend much, which made it hard to keep the on the floor at the same time, so Weaver stuck with the more consistent and efficient Bogdanovic, who has long been one of the league’s best 3-point shooters.
And Weaver needs him to continue to be, as he has just traded out a promising forward for a guy who is about to turn 34-years-old. If Bogdanovic gets hurt next season or his production drops off, there is going to be a lot of finger pointing at Weaver, especially if Bey makes a leap for Atlanta.
It’s not like Weaver traded out an All-Star, but Bey was a popular player, who also happens to rarely miss games, so if age starts catching up with Bogdanovic there will be second guessing, especially since the Detroit Pistons could have gotten some assets for him at the deadline.