Detroit Pistons: Weaver’s free-agent strategy may disappoint fans

Detroit Pistons: Weaver’s free-agent strategy may disappoint fans

The Cons

The Detroit Pistons are coming off one of the worst seasons in team history. Fans need something to be excited about other than adding more young players to the roster who will need a few years to develop.

Patience is running thin, so there is some downside to not making a move that will add some excitement (and ticket sales) around the team.

• If the Pistons don’t sign another veteran this offseason, they will have a very young team, even younger than last year. You may not have noticed, but extremely young teams do not win many games, unless you are the OKC Thunder and have an All-Pro flanking them. Detroit may very well have that when Cade Cunningham returns, but if not, they’d have the same two veterans (Bogdanovic and Burks) as last season and would be potentially replacing Cory Joseph, Hamidou Diallo and Rodney McGruder (don’t be shocked if he’s back) with more young, unproven players. This is not a recipe for making the leap Troy Weaver has often talked about.

• The Pistons are hoping for internal improvement and they should get it. Cunningham is going to come back with a vengeance and remind people why he was the number one pick. Jaden Ivey is working towards that goal as we speak. But would internal improvement and two more first-round draft picks really be enough to get Detroit out of the cellar? I’m not so sure. They still have big holes in the roster. Sitting on their money, or giving it all to multiple role players may be prudent in some ways, but I for one am not keen on struggling through another 20-25 win season. Enough is enough already.
• These young players need to taste some success. Detroit has talked A LOT about culture, but nothing is going to change until they start winning games. So far all of their young guys have done nothing but lose and if that mindset is ever going to change, they have to taste some success and get used to playing in games that matter.

I trust that Troy Weaver knows what’s best for this team better than I do, and if he doesn’t think the right guy is available in free agency, there is no reason to reach just to do something. But they do have to do something  to move the needle or there are going to be some disappointed fans.