A former player/coach the Detroit Pistons need to bring back
The Detroit Pistons could be a much different team by the time next season rolls around.
There could be major roster churn, as there are really only three players (Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren) who are labeled as “untouchable” at this point, with everyone else potentially on the table.
The coaching staff could also be overhauled, as head coach Dwane Casey and his staff are not locks to be back as the Pistons try to turn the corner as a franchise next season and fumigate the stench of all of this losing.
There are some intriguing coaching candidates out there, so if the Detroit Pistons decide to go in a different direction, we could see big changes from the coaching staff on down.
Regardless of who is at the helm, the Detroit Pistons should consider bringing back a former player and assistant coach who seems like a perfect fit for their young bigs.
Detroit Pistons: Rasheed Wallace is the perfect fit
Rasheed Wallace has obvious connections to the team as a former player who won a title, but he also had a brief stint as an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons under Stan Van Gundy.
He still has ties to the community, as he has been outspoken about the Flint water crisis, helping to raise awareness and even delivering water to people in need.
He’s also got the coaching chops, as he has put in time as a high school head coach and most recently as an assistant under Penny Hardaway at Memphis, where he is coaching aside former Pistons’ head coach Larry Brown.
He’s got a direct connection to Pistons’ center Jalen Duren, who played at Memphis for one season and would be a great coach to help improve his defense.
Wallace was not at Memphis with James Wiseman, but who better to teach him the ins and outs of being a stretch big and playing with another center? Sheed had a pretty good stretch playing with center Ben Wallace and would be a great mentor for the Pistons’ two young big men as they try to develop that kind of dynamic.
Here’s Sheed working with some young players. Be warned, there is some colorful language here:
He has the respect of players and a connection to the Pistons as well as their centers, so seems like he’d be a no-brainer choice to bring onto the staff in some capacity, even if it is just as a summer advisor as Ben Wallace has done in the past.