When it comes to priorities for the Detroit Pistons next season, their top one hasn’t changed.
They have to get improvement and development from their young players, it’s that simple. The Pistons are not yet primed to make a big trade and can’t attract free agents, so building through the draft is their best shot at sustained success, as painful as it has been at times.
This team is only going to go as far as their young core will take them, as they are flanked by placeholder veterans and Detroit’s best players are still all in their early 20’s.
Dwane Casey and Monty Williams were unable to coax the best out of Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, though they weren’t given the roster to do it.
Now JB Bickerstaff will take his turn on the developmental carousel, but luckily, he has a recent history of success in this area that should translate directly to the Pistons.
Sam Merrill-Marcus Sasser
Sam Merrill and Marcus Sasser have a lot in common. They both came into the league as experienced prospects who were already 23-24 years old as rookies. They are both undersized shooting guards who can light it up from long range.
Merrill had a mini-breakout season last year under Bickerstaff, playing the most games of his career and hitting over 40 percent from long range on 5.8 attempts per game.
Sasser is probably already better than Merrill but he too may benefit from Bickerstaff’s tutelage. If he can carve out a role for himself as Merrill did in Cleveland as a shooter who plays around 15-18 minutes per game and spreads the floor with 3-point shooting, it will be another success for Bickerstaff.
Isaac Okoro-Ausar Thompson
Okoro came into the NBA known as a defender who could act as a connector on offense with his passing but was missing a jump shot. Sound familiar?
Ausar Thompson is already better than Okoro at just about everything, but one area Okoro improved mightily under Bickerstaff was his shooting.
He went from shooting 42 percent from the field and 29 percent from long range his rookie season to 49 and 39 percent last season. If Bickerstaff (and Fred Vinson) can get this kind of improvement out of Ausar, the Pistons will be in business, as he is already good at almost everything else.