4 Pistons who are primed to disappoint this season
If there is anything the Detroit Pistons have been good at over the last five seasons it is disappointing their fans.
From prospects who never made it, signings who never lived up to even modest hype and highly-paid coaches who never showed up.
We won’t be fooled again.
I’ve been covering the Pistons for about five years now and I have never seen less optimism and/or excitement for a season than this one. We’ve been burned too many times to go all in on a prospect, to believe a young player is going to magically turn into a star, to think a washed-up veteran signing will move the needle.
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In the spirit of that pessimism, let’s look at four Detroit Pistons who could add to the disappointment, whether it is through role, development or what they will bring to the Pistons.
Ron Holland II
This has less to do with Holland and more about fans’ wild and unrealistic expectations for rookies, something that has plagued the Pistons over recent years.
Holland was a surprise with the 5th pick and there were guys on the board (Dalton Knecht, Donovan Clingan) who could have helped the Pistons right away and will look like competent NBA players before Holland does.
Queue the “we should have taken Knecht!” Tweets as soon as he scores 20 points in a game.
Pistons fans are used to seeing their draft picks inserted directly into the starting five, but that’s not going to happen with Holland and there is a good chance he’ll start the season on the fringes (or even out of) the rotation.
There is also a chance he spends time in the G-League this season, which isn’t the worst thing in the world, as the Pistons have had little success throwing players directly into the fire out of the draft.
There will be fans eager to call Trajan Langdon’s first draft pick a bust, you know the ones, who care more about being right on one of their “hot takes” than they do about the team. But they will be loud if Holland isn’t playing, and some fans will be disappointed that Holland isn’t great right away because that’s how fans are.