7 players the Detroit Pistons gave up on too soon
7 players the Detroit Pistons gave up on too soon
#4 and 3: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown
KCP is player the Pistons probably wish they had back now, as he’d be the 3-and-D veteran wing that they are missing.
The Pistons took KCP 8th overall in the 2013 Draft and his draft status is partially the reason fans were disappointed with his early results. He did average over 14 points per game in one season for the Pistons, but was never much of a shooter, which is one of the reasons (in addition to some off-the-court stuff) that Detroit simply gave up on him.
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The Pistons renounced his rights and just let KCP become an unrestricted free agent, which seems like GM malpractice, as they could have gotten something for him in a trade. Instead, he went on to become a very good role player, winning a ring with the Lakers and then becoming a key part of the Denver Nuggets, who currently look like Pistons 2.0 with several of Detroit’s cast offs.
His teammate Bruce Brown is another guy who could have made this list, as he too was given away for practically nothing and has evolved into a quality role player on a good team.
Brown is now a do-it-all guard/wing who can defend just about every position and both he and KCP are averaging double digits for the best team in the Western Conference.
They are both tough defenders who hustle and do all of the little things, the exact types of guys the Pistons are missing.