Pistons' Summer League breakout won't change anything

After a rough opening game, Chaz Lanier had a breakout Summer League performance for the Detroit Pistons. 

He averaged over 17 points per game, but more importantly, shot over 51 percent from longe range on nine attempts per game, which is the skill that got him to the NBA. If Lanier isn’t hitting shots, he doesn’t do much else, so it was vital for him to knock them down from long range. 

But let’s be real here: Lanier should dominate Summer League. He’s 24 years old and this is his second trip to Vegas, so he should have a comfort level against this competition, most of whom will not see an NBA court next season. 

And that may also be true of Lanier, as his hot shooting probably won’t be enough to earn him rotation minutes, at least not yet. 

Chaz Lanier is buried on the depth chart 

I was chastised by an inordinately angry reader (seriously guy, get a grip) for suggesting that Lanier wouldn’t be in the rotation next season, which I didn’t think was a hot take at all considering he is currently like 5th on the depth chart. 

Lanier will almost certainly be behind Duncan Robinson, Isaiah Joe and Kevin Huerter, and you can probably add veteran Gary Harris to that list if he ends up on the final roster. 

We will also see Daniss Jenkins and maybe even rookie Ebuka Okorie play off the ball at times, so Lanier has an uphill battle to make the rotation, especially when all of those guys have more versatility in their games. 

Duncan Robinson has made a career out of being a movement shooter, but that career wouldn’t have been as long if he didn’t add more to his game. Robinson is now capable off-the-dribble attacker when defenders close out and is a decent connector as a passer, things Lanier must improve. 

But even if he does, Lanier will have a hard time cracking the rotation unless the Pistons make changes. 

The Pistons are set up for a big trade 

The Pistons are perfectly set up to make a big trade at next year’s trade deadline, as they now have a bunch of contracts they can aggregate to match a big deal. 

That could include one or more of Robinson, Joe or Huerter, so if the Pistons make a big trade that shakes up the depth chart, Lanier could be one of the beneficiaries of the superfluous minutes. 

I’m sure Detroit would love nothing more than a guy on a minimum second-round contract to contribute at some point, as securing cheap impact talent is key in the current CBA. 

But Lanier has a long way to go to get anywhere near that, even after a breakout Summer League. He will have to keep shooting the cover off the ball and hope the Pistons make changes that open up the logjam at guard. 

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