The Detroit Pistons are unlikely to win 20 games this season, which will mark the 4th in a row that they have been at or near the bottom of the NBA.
We knew this was coming when Troy Weaver took over, as the roster was an absolute mess (seriously, look at this team), the Pistons had no assets, no young talent and owed a semi-mobile Blake Griffin a ton of money.
Currently there is an argument raging among Pistons’ fans as to whether Troy Weaver’s “restoration” is really working or if this team is just spinning its wheels and tanking. One side is the “Trust in Troy” group that knows this was a full-on tear down that was going to take time to fix. The other side points to teams like OKC, Cleveland and Orlando as examples of how the Detroit Pistons are taking too long to turn it around. These fans are growing impatient with the epic losing and it’s hard to blame them.
I identify with both groups, as the Pistons were in the worst position in the NBA when Weaver took over, and unlike some of those other teams mentioned, didn’t have any assets to jumpstart the rebuild. But considering they are worse this season, I also think some impatience is fair and no one is more sick of tanking than me, a guy who has to try to find new ways to write about this terrible team every day.
One side points to Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren and James Wiseman as signs that better days are coming, while the other points to Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart, Killian Hayes and Marvin Bagley III as failures of this regime that are the main reasons they are still bad.
So which group is right? Should Troy Weaver be on the hot seat or do we all just need to chill and let this play out at its own speed?
Detroit Pistons: Is Troy Weaver on the hot seat?
I don’t think Weaver’s seat is hot, but he is undoubtedly entering the most important offseason of his time in Detroit, especially after he made the somewhat delusional declaration that the Pistons are “going to be great next year.”
The Pistons don’t have to be title contenders next season, but if they don’t make some kind of progress, even the “Trust in Troy” people are going to start to lose faith.
But I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to compare the Detroit Pistons to teams like OKC and Cleveland, even though both of those teams went from the cellar to playoffs much quicker.
OKC had Paul George to trade, which landed them Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is now 24-years-old and entering his prime. None of the Pistons’ core guys are that old and Cade Cunningham just missed the entire season. Teams don’t win with 21-year-olds and that’s just a fact.
Cleveland was boosted by a savvy trade that landed them Jarrett Allen for practically nothing. They hit a home run in the draft with Evan Mobley and had the assets to make the big trade for Donovan Mitchell. The Cavaliers did jump into the playoff discussion last season with a very young team, but their rebuild was already underway.
Next season will really be the one to judge for Troy Weaver and the Detroit Pistons, as they have some young talent, a few veteran contributors and the money to add more. They will still be very young, but fans should expect them to at least be in the play-in discussion next season, as Cleveland was last year.
But if that doesn’t happen, and we are back here again next year talking about losses as wins and praying for teenagers to save the team, Weaver’s seat is going to be red hot. Every rebuild is different, and this one started with less than nothing, but four years is also a lot of time in the NBA, and the patience fans have shown isn’t finite.