The Detroit Pistons have made no secret of their desire to land a stretch big, but the player they need may already be on the roster in backup center Isaiah Stewart.
Outside of Tobias Harris, the Pistons do not have a forward or center that is a proven shooter, a need they have reportedly tried and failed to address this summer.
Stewart played as a stretch four in two-big lineups during the Monty Williams debacle but moved back to his more comfortable position as a rim-protecting center last season, a role in which he was very successful.
Stewart was one of the best rim-protecting bigs in the league last season, but failed to meet the minimum minutes’ requirements for the All-Defensive team, which was by design from coach JB Bickerstaff, who was trying to keep the oft-injured big man healthy, a strategy that worked right up until the first game of the playoffs.
But prior to that, Stewart did show touch as a shooter, so can he expand his game again to add 3-point shooting to his arsenal?
Detroit Pistons: Should Isaiah Stewart even care about 3-point shooting?
There wasn’t much from the Monty Williams era that the Pistons want to repeat, as it led to the worst record in team history, and that includes the disastrous two-big man lineups.
The one thing they may want to revisit is Isaiah Stewart’s shooting as he hit 38 percent of his 3-point shots on nearly four attempts per game, numbers that would easily satisfy the Pistons’ desire to add a big man who can shoot.
Stewart has been working on his shot this summer as all players do, and promising video has emerged of him knocking down 3-pointers with a smooth shooting motion.
You obviously can’t take much from a short workout video as nearly all NBA players can hit shots all day in an empty gym, but it’s certainly something to consider.
JB Bickerstaff clearly had Stewart focused on defense last season with great results and may want Stewart to continue to lean into the area where he is elite, which is the protecting the rim, and not worry about him evolving into a stretch big.
But doing so would not only significantly raise Stewart’s ceiling as a player (as well as his next payday) but would benefit the Pistons, giving them more lineup versatility and ability to spread the floor around Cade Cunningham with five-out sets.
Stewart has plenty of financial motivation to add shooting back to his game when you look at the contract Naz Reid just signed. Reid isn’t as good a defender as Stewart but is a good 3-point shooter, which significantly raised his value as a player.
Stewart doesn’t need to suddenly morph into a high-volume shooter, but even if he got back to shooting around three a game at a good clip, he’d be even more of an asset to the Pistons.