Detroit Pistons: 5 worst duos in franchise history

5 worst duos in Detroit Pistons’ history

#1: Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva

When I first began to ponder this list, I have to say, this duo immediately sprung to mind. No, Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva weren’t particularly good basketball players during their time here in Detroit, but that isn’t why they sit at the top of this list and find themselves saddled with this stain. It’s because of the expectations Joe Dumars created upon talking them up, suggesting that they would be the foundation of the next great Pistons team. They were signed five years after the 2004 championship and were both literal and figurative replacements for the core that won that title. Joe D kept running it back with Ben Wallace and Co for as long as he could, but all good things must come to an end. Rather than rebuild, Dumars tried to reload, and that tactic had disastrous results.

Ben Gordon spent three years in Detroit, looking nothing like the weapon that he had been for the Chicago Bulls before migrating to The D. It was such a drop-off that it was perplexing. He was in his prime, and he was essentially given the same greenlight to shoot the basketball that he was given in Chicago. But Gordon only knocked down 32 percent of his triple tries his first year as a Piston despite draining over 40 percent each of his four seasons with the Bulls.

Villanueva’s stay was a little longer, but just as stomach-turning. He scored a career-high 16.2 points a game with Milwaukee the year before joining the Pistons and managed a mere 11.9 points a game during his first season with the new club. He was every bit the flop that Gordon was, unfortunately. They were two of the worst free-agent signings in team history and symbolic of an era best forgotten.