The Detroit Pistons entered the season with dreams of improvement but that hasn't happened.
The Pistons finally broke their epic losing streak but just started another one with two straight losses to start the new year.
What's made this year even more disappointing than the previous three is that the Pistons are actually trying to win. They aren't tanking for Cade Cunningham or Victor Wembanyama, this is them trying to win and they are currently 3-31 with little hope for turning it around in January.
Last season fans leaned on player development as a reason to watch. At least Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren were getting reps despite all of the losses. At least Cade Cunningham was coming back. At least there was a reason to hope.
But the Pistons are failing on both fronts this season.
The Detroit Pistons aren't winning
If the Pistons were winning a few games, not even good, but at least on their way to 25-30 wins, then you could make a case for playing Isaiah Livers, Killian Hayes and James Wiseman.
If these three were playing well and helping the team to win, it would make total sense. But they're not doing either. Livers is shooting 25 percent from long range and has been bad defensively. Wiseman still looks like he's just playing basketball for the first time. Killian Hayes is still shooting 31 percent overall and his pick-and-roll with Wiseman has been a disaster.
All three players are on expiring contracts and not likely to be part of the future. They are not playing well. The Pistons aren't winning. What am I missing here? Livers played 36 minutes last night while Ausar Thompson played 11.
James Wiseman played 17 minutes last night and managed to have three turnovers in that time. Marvin Bagley III, who is under contract for next season, didn't play at all. Killian Hayes played just 13 minutes and scored two points, though he did add six assists in that time. Marcus Sasser played zero.
So the Pistons aren't winning with players who aren't likely to be on the team next season and doing it at the expense of their young guys.
The Pistons aren't developing their young players
Cade Cunningham
Cade has been better this season, particularly since Bojan Bogdanovic returned. Even though he still turns the ball over too much and needs to improve his defensive consistency, Cade is not the problem, but you wonder how much better he'd be with a couple of competent two-way forwards around him. Cunningham has been a bright spot, but the Pistons' roster construction is still stunting his growth.
Jaden Ivey
Ivey hasn't gotten consistent minutes or had a consistent role all season. Even when he was coming off the bench, he was used sparingly as a playmaker, and even though he's played well with Cade Cunningham, he still has games like last night when he only plays 22 minutes. Last night made some sense, as Alec Burks was red hot, but did his minutes have to come at the expense of Ivey? Why not Livers? Why not Hayes?
Ivey has kept a great attitude this season, but it would be hard to argue that his development hasn't been hurt by the way Monty Williams has jerked around his minutes. It would be one thing if Livers and Hayes were playing well and Ivey wasn't, but that isn't the case.
Ausar Thompson
Of all the crimes Monty Williams has committed against his young players, this might be the worst. Thompson has not shot well from 3-point range, but we knew that coming into the season.
But he's still their best defender and a versatile player who can get buckets in other ways. The Pistons have barely tried to use Thompson on the ball even though he's very good at getting to the rim. They rarely get him the ball on the move and instead have stuck him in the corner most of the time where he is ineffective.
When your team is letting up 154 points, you have no business with your best defender on the bench for most of the game. Thompson can create space with his cutting and playmaking abilities in ways that Livers can't, and it's not like Livers is making shots anyway!
Can we just see the Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Bojan Bogdanovic, Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren starting lineup already? It's been infuriating watching Thompson go from one of the top rookies, a guy who was doing amazing things on defense and the boards, relegated to 11 minutes per game and no visible role.
If you didn't know any better you'd think Livers was the top-5 pick the Pistons were trying to develop, not Thompson. Again, if the Pistons were winning, you could justify it, but they aren't and Livers stinks.
Marcus Sasser
Sasser has his flaws. He's up and down defensively and has some issues with shot selection. But he's also shooting 42.9 percent from long range on the season and hasn't gotten much run of late.
Considering Killian Hayes is on an expiring deal and Sasser isn't, why not give Sasser those minutes? He can at least give the Pistons a spark offensively and they traded up to get the guy, so why not get a better understanding of what you have?
Monty Williams is still playing this season as if the Pistons are winning, as if certain guys are playing well when they aren't. So Detroit is not only losing at an epic pace but not developing the young players they claim are the future of the team.