How the Detroit Pistons can shock everyone next season
By Douglas Doty
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A Willingness to Make Roster Changes Where Needed
The list can go on and on when talking about what went wrong last season, but arguably the most frustrating of all to fans was the unwillingness from the front office to make changes to the roster. The spacing problem was a consistent issue for nearly three seasons, and GM Troy Weaver never made any effort to truly address it. Rather than adding solidified shooters and scorers, Weaver looked to add players with high upside but little to show for it, such as James Wiseman and Marvin Bagley III. When it came to mid-season acquisitions, the front office settled with mediocrity rather than improvement. Free agency was never filled with hope for fans, nor was the trade deadline. Expectations were high, but never met. Sadly for the city and its fans, it took a franchise-worst record for this problem to be addressed.
This is arguably the most long-term factor that would lead to the future success of the Pistons; you can have high-upside and a nice roster "on paper", but if it doesn't work out, accountability is necessary, and from what we seen in the teams past, this is a massive area to work on. Fortunately for fans, it seems as if this unseen accountability in the past is finally changing, as owner Tom Gores has made seemingly well thought-out moves to improve the roster. Trajan Langdon has vocalized how he is not afraid to make roster changes and fill in the holes when they are apparent, which is a sign of hope. Although a long-term goal, for this next season to be deemed successful, the front office and coaching staff is going to have to showcase a willingness to make roster changes when and where it is needed.
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