Daniss Jenkins had a breakout last season, but he’ll need to continue that growth just to keep his spot this season. With rookie Ebuka Okorie threatening to take the backup point guard role, Jenkins will need to show even more improvement or risk falling down the rotation.
The Pistons need even more from Jenkins
It’s tough to ask a player who already showed such heavy improvements last season to do the same again, but Jenkins is in that position. Despite all of his growth, Jenkins still showed obvious flaws which limited his impact in the biggest games and the playoffs.
Jenkins became a rotation player for the Pistons and was the de-facto backup point guard because Detroit had no one else on the roster to fill that spot. But his offensive game is still very one-dimensional and reliant on him either hitting threes or finishing at the rim. That limited skillset even made him a poor fit next to Cade Cunningham, arguably the worst thing for a Piston to be.
This season, Jenkins will need to show improvements in his complementary skills so he can support Cade better when they share the court. His playmaking needs to take a leap so that he can run the bench unit’s offense by himself and also take some ball-handling load off Cade. In particular, Jenkins needs to come along as a pick-and-roll operator so he can make the most of his big men.
Jenkins should feel the pressure
Obviously, the preseason is too soon to judge a player’s stagnation or growth between seasons. But Jenkins’ performance in the preseason opener against the Suns didn’t inspire a ton of confidence. He finished with 5 points and 4 assists on 2-of-7 shooting over 18 minutes.
Of course, Okorie juxtaposed that with an efficient 7 points, including the game-winner. He’s on a rapid growth curve as a 20-year-old rookie. Most importantly, compared to Jenkins, Okorie is not reliant on hot shooting from outside to generate efficient scoring.
Jenkins did get some security from the Pistons with a standard contract covering this season, but it still leaves him open to either a trade or a fall down the depth chart. He’s making $4 million this season, which is a very tradable contract - especially for a team needing more guard depth.
But even if the Pistons keep him, Jenkins could fall out of the playoff rotation depending on Okorie’s development. There won’t be a ton of solo backup point guard minutes available in key games because Cade Cunningham will occupy that position for so much of the game.
Right now, Jenkins has a defensive edge over Okorie but that could rapidly change as Okorie gets stronger with an NBA strength training program. At that point, cohesion with Cade will be a huge factor in deciding the split between Jenkins and Okorie; that’s where Jenkins needs to grow the most.
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