The Detroit Pistons must avoid the fate of the Memphis Grizzlies.
It feels strange to write that, as in many ways, the Grizzlies are exactly what the Pistons should be emulating, as they are a small market team that is consistently good.
But that’s the thing, the Grizz have never gotten past good.
And now it’s not clear if they ever will, at least not with this group, as they seem to have hit a wall, fired their coach near the end of the season and were then eviscerated in the first round by OKC, a team that looked to be toying with them.
Much like the Detroit Pistons this season, the Grizzlies were once a super young team that looked destined for greatness, but they haven’t gotten there yet, and it now looks like they may not.
The Detroit Pistons need to find a way to get over the hump the Grizzlies couldn’t
Things couldn’t have looked much better for the Memphis Grizzlies back in 2021-22. They made the playoffs and got all the way to the conference semi-finals before eventually losing a competitive series to the Golden State Warriors.
The Grizzlies’ most experienced player was Kyle Anderson, who was in his 8th year. Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke were in their third seasons and Jaren Jackson Jr. was in his fourth. Desmond Bane was in his second year.
With all that talent and youth, the Grizzlies seemed destined for long-term success and a chance to win a title with that core.
But they haven’t been that deep in the playoffs since, flaming out twice in the first round and missing the playoffs entirely in the 2023-24 season.
The Pistons are in a similar situation in that they had unexpected success with a very young team that everyone assumes will just keep getting better.
Unfortunately, the Grizzlies showed that progress isn’t always linear, and plenty can happen to derail even the surest of bets.
How do the Pistons avoid being the Grizzlies?
Memphis has been hit with injuries and off-court issues from Ja Morant that have certainly hurt their development.
Staying healthy will be key for the Pistons to keep progressing. We saw how injuries to Isaiah Stewart and Jaden Ivey hurt Detroit’s chances, so they can’t afford long-term absences from their best players.
The Pistons also have to find the right role players and keep them. Memphis lost Dillon Brooks and Tyus Jones and were never able to replace their production or leadership. You can argue about Brooks all you want, but the Rockets are a better team and he’s been perfect for them.
The Grizzlies always assume they can keep a pipeline of young talent coming in, but it’s tough to replace veterans with rookies, a lesson the Pistons learned firsthand when they took off with better vets around Cade Cunningham.
The good news for the Grizzlies is that they do have some exciting young players in Scottie Pippen Jr., GG Jackson, Zach Edey and Jaylen Wells. They have tradable contracts that they could use to reset/reload, so it’s not like the Grizzlies are cooked.
But they haven’t found a way to go from good to great, which is the toughest part of team building, as you have to find a way to get better without disrupting what made you good in the first place, which is precisely the task Trajan Langdon has ahead of him.