The Detroit Pistons just completed the worst season in team history and once again we’ve been promised that "sweeping change" is coming.
You could accept the worst record in the league, and maybe even the 28-game losing streak, if this were the first year of a rebuild, but this is year four, so these results should be unacceptable to everyone involved, from the front office to the coaching staff to the entire roster.
The only good news is that the Pistons do have roster flexibility, with at least six open roster spots this offseason. They also have cap space to make additions, but it may be more important to make subtractions from a team that won 14 games and finished with the worst record in the NBA for the second straight season while other rebuilds took big steps forward.
Some of these will be easy decisions, no-brainers even, but the Pistons may also have to make some tougher calls on their roster this summer.
7 Detroit Pistons who shouldn't be back after embarrassing season
Jaylen Nowell
Let’s start with the easy ones. Nowell was signed on a 10-day contract and did show some ability to get buckets off the bench. Whoopee! He can’t do anything else and this team needs wholesale change if the culture is going to change. Nowell had little to do with this season and I wish him well, but it should be with someone else. Nowell might be a nice bench piece for a good team but the Pistons aren’t close.
Chimezie Metu
If I would have told you at the beginning of the season that Chimezie Metu would finish it in the Pistons’ starting lineup, your response likely would have been, “who?” Metu wasn’t horrible for Detroit, but they can’t take on any more players who can’t shoot unless they are elite at something else, and Metu isn’t. Thank you for your service and best of luck to you, good sir.
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Malachi Flynn
I will give this to Flynn, at least he played hard for the Pistons and looked like one of the few guys interested in earning a job next season. His 50-point game might have been the most unlikely in NBA history and to show what a fluke it was, Flynn barely made another basket in any of the games after. Detroit needs wings, loads of them. Tall, long wings who can defend and shoot the 3-ball. Flynn is an undersized guard and the Pistons already have two of those. Thanks for the fun game, Malachi, it was one of the only highlights of the season.
Troy Brown Jr.
Did he actually exist on this team? I watch every game and can’t remember a single Troy Brown Jr. moment. In theory, he’s the kind of player the Pistons need, but in practice, he was terrible, shooting just 28 percent from long range in 22 games for Detroit. Again, this team needs shooters and defenders and Brown Jr. isn’t either. Fare thee well, good man.
Evan Fournier
If the Detroit Pistons were to pick up Fournier’s $19 million option for next season that might be enough to get me to tap out on this team. Even on a minimum deal it would still be a big fat no. If Fournier isn’t good enough to crack the rotation of a good team, then why should Detroit carry him? That has to be the standard moving forward, as the Pistons currently have exactly one player (Cade Cunningham) who would start on a good team. The rest would be backups or not on a roster at all. They have to raise the standards beyond “guy who shoots 27 percent from 3-point range and couldn’t sniff the floor on the Knicks.” Don’t even think about it, Pistons.
James Wiseman
There were a few games where it looked like Wiseman might be worth a flyer on a minimum deal next season, but the Pistons must improve their defense at center and Wiseman ain’t it. Wiseman is a freakish athlete who can do things few big man can, but he is still bad at the fundamentals of basketball. The Pistons shouldn’t be carrying more than one project center at a time, and they already have Jalen Duren, who needs plenty of work himself. Bring in two more experienced centers to compete with Duren and let Wiseman go to a team looking for a project. He sounds like a future Wizard to me.
Jaden Ivey
A lot of people will disagree with this one, but to me, Jaden Ivey was the most disappointing Piston this season. You can blame part of his struggles on Monty Williams, who certainly didn’t help by bringing him off the bench in favor of Killian Hayes, refusing to stagger him with Cade Cunningham and refusing to plot out a real role for the second-year guard. But at what point do the players have to take some accountability? Ivey was more inefficient this season than last, made questionable decisions and is still a liability on defense. Other than his speed, there isn’t anything he does particularly well, but even that speed is misleading, as it often gets him into trouble.
This isn’t to say the Pistons should give up on Ivey completely, and there is certainly a world in which he comes back and plays well for Detroit. But they can’t just slot him into the starting two-guard spot next season. They have to bring in competition even if that means trading Ivey or bringing him off the bench in a different role. Ivey was slightly more efficient off the bench than as a starter this season, so maybe that is the ultimate answer. The Pistons need a starting two who can spread the floor and defend, and Ivey does neither right now. If the Pistons can package him in a trade this offseason, they have to consider it if the deal is right, but if not, they have to come up with a sustainable and consistent role for Jaden Ivey.