The dream offseason fans of the Detroit Pistons were hoping for has not materialized so far.
Hopes of Victor Wembanyama turned into Ausar Thompson. Visions of top free agents like Jerami Grant and Cameron Johnson turned into trades for Joe Harris and Monte Morris.
Some fans are down so bad that they are crying out for Bol Bol (sounds like a bad TV show) and acting as if Grant Williams is Grant Hill.
I get it. I’m sick of the Pistons being the worst team in basketball and it was easy to get gassed up thinking about what could be while ignoring 14 percent lottery odds and the fact that Detroit was never going to get one of the top free agents.
So while I don’t think the team should be given a parade for essentially getting two veterans for nothing, the Detroit Pistons should be better next season, even if these moves were less than exciting ones.
It may not be exciting, but the Detroit Pistons are better
The Pistons’ roster had a lot of dead weight on it last season and still has plenty depending on who you ask. They still need more talent and depth at the forward position, have logjams at center and guard to sort out and didn’t land a starting caliber player in free agency to complement their core.
But consider that Hamidou Diallo, Cory Joseph, Rodney McGruder and Eugene Omoruyi have been replaced with Joe Harris, Marcus Sasser, Ausar Thompson and Monte Morris. Every guy on the second list is not only a better player than every guy on the first, but is a better fit with what they have.
Harris and Morris provide more veteran shooting, a huge area of weakness for Detroit last season. Ausar Thompson gives them a legit defender on the wing and Marcus Sasser is also a good defender who can shoot the 3-ball.
They aren’t the marquee names we were hoping for, but they are upgrades and the Pistons were able to do it without giving up anything. They have financial flexibility going forward, the contracts to make a big trade in the future and will also be getting Cade Cunningham back, a bigger addition than any they could have made in free agency.
It’s not fast enough, and it’s certainly not exciting, but the Detroit Pistons will be better next season. How much is yet to be seen.