We’ve nearly run out of negative superlatives to describe the Detroit Pistons this season, but their record says it all.
They’ve won just eight games, fewest in the NBA, and still need two more wins to avoid being the worst team in league history. Detroit should be able to avoid that dubious monicker, but they’ll need nine more wins to avoid being the worst team in franchise history, which would be a miracle at this point.
If you are counting, 40 percent of the franchise’s 10 worst seasons will have come under Troy Weaver’s restoration, including the worst one.
It’s hard to believe that the Detroit Pistons are worse than last year’s 17-win debacle (currently the 2nd-worst season in franchise history) but here we are.
What has made this season even more frustrating is that head coach Monty Williams hasn’t really leaned into player development, even after it became crystal clear that his team wasn’t going to compete for anything other than the worst record in the league.
Young players have been stunted by his decisions and up until recently, he’s barely played the Core Four together at the same time.
So let’s take a quick look at the progress of each player with a one-sentence review of where they are as we enter the home stretch of the season.
The Detroit Pistons’ deep bench
Stanley Umude
The Pistons signed him to a full contract and need to give him some minutes in the final games.
Mike Muscala
Moose was inexplicably pulled from the rotation after helping the Pistons to half of their wins.
Troy Brown Jr.
An interesting project but the Pistons need to upgrade his spot on the roster before next season.
Shake Milton
Milton should not be with the Pistons after this year.
The Detroit Pistons’ bench
Evan Fournier
I’m now terrified the Pistons are going to pick up his ridiculous option for next season after he has led the bench in minutes since joining the team.
James Wiseman
Wiseman makes the Pistons worse on both ends and has not progressed at all even though he’s getting consistent minutes of late.
Quentin Grimes
I’m excited about his future with the Pistons but concerned it is going to come at the expense of Jaden Ivey.
Malachi Flynn
Flynn hustles and can take care of the rock, but his minutes should be limited once Marcus Sasser returns from injury.
Marcus Sasser
Sasser is elite when it comes to shooting efficiency, but needs to add other elements to his game, which he could if Monty Williams would just give him consistent minutes upon his return from injury.
Isaiah Stewart
Has made strides as a shooter but needs to cut out the nonsense and stay on the floor; He needs to be the team’s backup center but I’m not sure Troy Weaver or Monty Williams see it that way.
The Detroit Pistons’ starters
Jalen Duren
Duren has shown real progress on offense, but practically none on defense, which is more important to the team and what he needs to focus on this offseason.
Simone Fontecchio
A solid player on both ends who has probably been a net positive over Bojan Bogdanovic even though he’s not as good a scorer.
Ausar Thompson
Thompson is showing how he impacts games without being able to shoot from long range and is developing a reliable mid-range floater.
Jaden Ivey
Ivey has looked like a star at times but must be more consistent, which would be easier if his coach didn’t constantly screw with his minutes.
Cade Cunningham
Cunningham is a superstar in the making but has to improve on defense to get there and more consistently affect the game in clutch time.
BONUS
Monty Williams
I hope Monty Williams decides to spend more time with his family this summer and agrees to a buyout from the Detroit Pistons so we can forget this disaster ever happened.