No team did more to alter their roster at the NBA trade deadline than the Detroit Pistons, who swapped out half of their team over two days.
Gone are Killian Hayes, Joe Harris, Monte Morris, Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks and Danilo Gallinari. In are Simone Fontecchio, Quentin Grimes, Shake Milton, Troy Brown Jr., Evan Fournier and Malachi Flynn.
Tom Gores said there would be change, and though we can argue if these changes are for the better, we certainly can't argue that they made them, which makes perfect sense for the worst team in the league.
The question now is how Monty Williams will deploy his new team once they are all healthy and on the floor together. There are several options.
Detroit Pistons' depth chart #1
If I had to guess, I'd say that we will finally get a steady diet of the Core Four, something that should have happened a long time ago, as they have barely played together this season. So this is what I expect once Isaiah Stewart is back:
Cade Cunningham/Marcus Sasser/Shake Milton
Jaden Ivey/Quentin Grimes
Ausar Thompson/Troy Brown Jr.
Isaiah Stewart/Simone Fontecchio
Jalen Duren/Mike Muscala
You can argue whether Sasser is a point guard (he isn't) but we'll likely see Cunningham and Ivey staggered so that there is nearly always one of them on the floor. You can play Grimes all over the wing, same with Fontecchio, who will be used at both forward spots.
I think we'll see little of Milton or Brown Jr and that Stewart and Muscala will sometimes be flip-flopped. It's a much more balanced roster with defenders and shooters in both groups and more options for Monty Williams to mix and match with the guys off the bench.
We may not see this for a few more days at least, as Stewart is still out, but eventually, this seems like the structure Williams will likely build from.
But there are other options.