“Availability is the most important ability” is a long-time cliche for a reason, something the Detroit Pistons and the rest of the league are learning during these playoffs.
We’ve seen high-profile injuries to guys like Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, Steph Curry and Aaron Gordon that radically changed not only the playoffs, but the power structure of the Eastern Conference.
Injuries happen, and when it comes to the catastrophic ones, there is not much you can do to prevent them, ask Jaden Ivey, whose season was ended on a freak play where Cole Anthony dove into his legs.
It’s the same with Jayson Tatum, who was one of the most reliable players in the league and ruptured his Achilles, which may keep him out for all of next season.
The Bucks got Lillard back briefly after a miraculous recovery from blood clots only come back and tear his Achilles, essentially ending any chances they had to get out of the first round.
Aaron Gordon was hampered by a bum hamstring in last night’s game seven, and you have to wonder if things might have been different had he been at 100 percent.
Some injuries can’t be avoided, as they are an inevitable part of any sport, but the Pistons need to target players who don’t already have a sketchy injury past.
Trajan Langdon knows the pain of injuries more than anyone
No one knows the effect of your best players being injured better than Trajan Langdon, who was once the GM of a team with Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball, three guys who barely ever played together at the same time over several seasons because they were always hurt.
Langdon made availability a priority in his offseason acquisitions last summer, specifically targeting guys in Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr, who have not missed many games in their respective careers.
He seems to have nailed his first draft pick in that regard, as Ron Holland II, who was second on the team with 81 games played. He would have been in all 82 if not for a late-season suspension that cost him a game.
Aaron Gordon talked about this last night during the postgame press conference when asking the league for more off days in between playoff games, lamenting that injuries may just see the “healthiest’ teams advanced and not the best ones.
It sounds a bit like sour grapes from Gordon, but he has a point, being healthy at the right time and having the quality depth to withstand injuries are two of the reasons we are seeing teams like the Pacers, Knicks and Thunder advance to the conference finals.
The Pistons should heed this warning and avoid players with lengthy injury histories, guys like Kristaps Porzingis, who may be available this summer. Yes, he’s talented, better than any Pistons’ big man by a wide margin, but what does it matter if he’s not on the floor? Ask the Celtics, who just paid $30 million this season for the answer to that question.
It’s one of the reasons I have Nickeil Alexander-Walker atop my free-agent board for Detroit, as he has played all 82 games in each of the last two seasons.
You can’t avoid injuries altogether, but you can avoid guys who are always injured, something Trajan Langdon will definitely consider when making any acquisition this summer.