Pistons have more NBA players than minutes

The Detroit Pistons didn’t make a splashy move for a second star and haven’t even re-signed Jalen Duren yet, but they should once again have a deep roster. 

You can debate whether Trajan Langdon did enough to complement Cade Cunningham this summer, though he did add a burst of shooting that should have a ripple effect on their shaky offense in the half court. 

You can also debate the quality of the Pistons’ depth, but they will enter the season (as of right now) with at least 13 players who think they deserve minutes in the rotation. 

Over the course of the season, they might be right, but in the beginning, there will be some unhappy players on the bench, even if head coach JB Bickerstaff uses an expanded rotation. 

The Detroit Pistons’ rotation (as of this current minute) 

If you had to name a Pistons’ rotation right now, you’d have the no-brainers like Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren (pending), John Collins, Duncan Robinson. Paul Reed and Isaiah Joe written in ink. 

The tier below them has Ron Holland II and Daniss Jenkins as players who will almost certainly be in the full-time rotation. 

Below that you have Javonte Green and Taurean Prince, players who are expected to play some kind of role next season. Green appeared in all 82 games last year, so he’s also likely to get minutes in the next one. 

That’s already up to 11 guys who have a strong chance of being in the Pistons’ rotation next season. We know coach JB Bickerstaff will use a big rotation, so this is far from set in stone.  

We also know there will be injuries at some point to deal with, but there are several players who might be on the outside of the rotation looking in at various points in the season. 

On the fringes of the Pistons rotation 

That leaves 4-5 players who will be battling for minutes all season and will have to outplay their counterparts or step up if someone else goes down. 

Kevin Huerter is making $9 million next season, so I am sure coach Bickerstaff will find ways to get him in there. He could easily shoot his way into the rotation but also provides secondary ball handling and rebounding the Pistons need. 

He seems the most likely of this group to see serious minutes next season. 

Rookie Ebuka Okorie will be battling Jenkins for minutes or could carve out a smaller bench role for himself as a deep backup. He’s an exciting player, but the Pistons don’t have a ton of developmental minutes to go around. Let’s hope Okorie makes himself impossible to ignore and contributes right away, but it’s hard to predict that out of a rookie, especially one who needs to put on strength. 

Gary Harris, Chaz Lanier and Tolu Smith round out the guys who likely won’t see much time next year unless there are injuries. Lanier shot the ball well in Summer League, but he will have an uphill climb with a lot of players in front of him. 

Smith got some run last year and may again in spot minutes behind Duren and Reed. 

It’s a good problem to have, as the Pistons have the depth to withstand injuries and can keep players fresh, but JB Bickerstaff will have a lot of juggling of minutes to do to keep everyone happy.

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