A potential Pistons depth chart and who gets left out

Who gets left out of the Pistons’ rotation?

Some of the young players don’t show up in the depth chart I provided.

• Cade Cunningham/Killian Hayes/Monte Morris
• Jaden Ivey/Monte Morris/Joe Harris
• Ausar Thompson/Alec Burks/Joe Harris
• Bojan Bogdanovic/Isaiah Stewart/Isaiah Livers
• Jalen Duren/MB3/Isaiah Stewart

I didn’t include James Wiseman simply because he might be the odd man out at the center position. I believe in his potential and hope he finds an opportunity somewhere. A lot of athletic, raw, bouncy bigs have struggled in the post-Splash Brothers NBA, and I for one look forward to the next step in the evolution of the game where centers develop the skills necessary to change offenses and shift defenses. I don’t know how to use the painted area to augment the current game, but I’ll be watching teams like Cleveland to see their approach.

Unfortunately, Wiseman doesn’t have the versatility to play the four, and MB3, in one preseason game, showed himself to be committed to defense. While we all wish Wiseman the best and hope for healthy competition for minutes, there are only so many opportunities. Beef Stew’s versatility should gain minutes at both power forward and center, and he’s the only big man capable of playing both spots.

Killian Hayes deserves an opportunity and Monte Morris provides both veteran leadership, mentorship, and shooting. As a consequence, Marcus Sasser could spend some time in the G-League at least to start the season. Opportunities may appear for any of a number of reasons, and as I’ve said before, I expect Sasser to carve out a role with the team. In his only preseason game, however, he looked raw.

We’ll see how my predictions match up with reality. You can never tell what the coaches see in practice and/or what they’re looking for when they give preseason opportunities. By February, the team might look quite different. As always, I look forward to seeing the changes, development, and growth of an NBA season.