2023-24 Season grades for the Detroit Pistons and Monty Williams

Ausar Thompson: B- 

Ausar was an “A” though the first part of the season, when he was putting up monster all-around numbers and looked like a lock for the All-Rookie team. But he too was jerked around by his coach and pulled from the starting lineup even though he came into the league as a very good defender and rebounder. He only shot 18 percent from long range, which is an issue, though not as big of one as some people make it, as Thompson is good at everything else. Other than Cade Cunningham, I’d say Thompson has the highest floor and will at least be a very good defender and at most an All Star. 

Cade Cunningham: B 

Other than games played, we saw everything we needed to see from Cade Cunningham this season. He improved his efficiency and shot the ball better from 3-point range, reduced his turnovers and had a stretch where he was playing at an All-NBA level. But he has to stay on the floor, as he only played 62 games and has still yet to crack the 65-game mark for his career. 

Monty Williams: F 

It’s hard to say anything went right for Monty in year one as the head coach. His team didn’t win, his young players didn’t improve much, and he was never able to carve out roles for anyone, which may be the most disappointing part of this season, as we still have no idea how these players fit together. He wasted so much time with Killian Hayes (who he saved from being traded before the season) at the expense of Ivey and now Killian isn’t even in the league.

His rotations were horrible, and that’s not just some nebulous fan talk, as he repeatedly used all-bench lineups that were quantifiably bad even though the Pistons had less depth than any team in the league. The good teams don’t even have 12 rotation players, but somehow Monty found ways to keep trotting out bench lineups full of guys who aren’t long for the NBA. It was a failed season all around, from winning to player development and we didn’t even get data for the future.