The Detroit Pistons just did something that they haven’t done in years, which is add talent at the NBA trade deadline.
They didn’t make a blockbuster move, but addressed a need by adding a ballhandler in Dennis Schroder who can take some of the pressure off Cade Cunningham and help the team make a run to the playoffs.
“Run to the playoffs” was not a phrase I expected to use this season, as the Pistons won just 14 games last year with a combination of terrible coaching, poor roster construction and bad injury luck.
Flash forward a year and the Pistons have solid veterans (crazy idea!) flanking their young talent, which has been beneficial not only to their number of wins but also to the development of their core.
This is an approach that was never attempted under Troy Weaver, who constantly went for budget reclamation projects, over-the-hill veterans and straight salary dumps that yielded little for his team.
It’s obvious when you look at the prospective buyout market this season and see it littered with ex-Pistons.
NBA buyout market: Ex-Pistons go from rotation to out of the league
This list of players who could be bought out (or have been) or outright waived was put together by Keith Smith of Spotrac, so shout out to Keith, who does great work.
Here are all of the ex-Pistons he named:
-Marvin Bagley III
-Bojan Bogdanovic
-Bruce Brown
-Reggie Jackson
-Monte Morris
Of this list, Brown is the only guy who can still play, but he was traded to New Orleans in the Brandon Ingram deal. Smith says it is 50/50 that the Pels waive or buy out Brown, who would be a useful addition to any team trying to contend.
Reggie Jackson is currently without a job and may not find one, though it wouldn’t be shocking to see him at the end of someone’s bench before the season is over.
The other three on the list were all part of the Pistons’ rotation just last season, going from NBA starters in some cases to guys no one really wants, which shows just how bad things were last season.
MBIII played 26 games for Detroit last year, 10 in the starting lineup. He was dumped to Memphis at the trade deadline and there is a good chance that they will buy him out, as they don’t really need him.
Bojan Bogdanovic has yet to play this season after playing 28 games for Detroit last season, 27 of them as a starter. Bogdanovic was nearly washed when the Pistons got him and now that process is complete. Keep in mind, he was a key part of the rotation just last season, I’d say Tobias Harris has been a substantial upgrade.
Monte Morris was meant to be a big part of the Pistons’ rotation last season but was hurt for most of the beginning of it. Pistons fans were down so bad last year that we were actually excited about Morris, who can’t crack the Suns’ rotation and could be waived.
If you want to see just how bad the Troy Weaver era was, just look at how many players he acquired for the Pistons who are no longer in the league.