When NBA teams draft a player in the top five, they hope he will eventually turn into a star, which is what the Detroit Pistons were hoping for when they took Ron Holland II with the 5th overall pick in the 2024 draft.Â
The Pistons know all too well that these things don’t always work out as planned, which they learned last season when they had to ditch Jaden Ivey, a #5 pick that didn’t pan out.Â
The jury is still out on Holland, who has made impact in his first two seasons, enough to be excited about his future, but even if he never becomes a star, he can help transform the Pistons by doing all of the role-player stuff well.Â
Ron Holland II has to expand his gameÂ
The Pistons envisioned a two-way wing when they drafted Holland, but that has not been the case so far, as he’s been a good defender who offers little on offense. We tend to focus on his bad 3-point shooting, but Holland has work in other areas if he wants to be the role player the Pistons need.Â
-Making the extra pass: Holland was very slow to move the ball at times last season, either holding it to decide if he should shoot the wide-open 3-pointer the other team was giving him or simply putting his head down and trying to bully his way through defenders. Â
He has to be better at making quick decisions with the ball. Either take the shot if it’s there or keep it moving. If you are going to attack, do it. The longer he holds the ball, the less chance of something positive happening.Â
-Ron Holland has to chill on defense: Holland is a very good, aggressive defender, who plays as if he only plans on being in the game for five minutes. Holland averaged nearly the same number of fouls per game as Ausar Thompson even though he played far fewer less last season.Â
Holland has to cut out the bad fouls, the ones where he is just being overly aggressive or taking unnecessary risks. He has the skill and athleticism to be a sound defender without fouling so much.Â
-Be more versatile in transition: Fast break points accounted for nearly half of Holland’s overall points last season, a testament to how bad his half-court offense was as much as to how good he was in transition.Â
Holland tends to be myopic on fast breaks and at times, it’s something to see, as he will try to dunk on anyone and isn’t afraid of vertical contact. But he often just puts his head down and misses the easy pass. With more shooters around him next season, he needs to kick out more often and not just try to go through everyone.Â
-Ron Holland needs to cut: For someone with his athleticism, Holland does very little cutting to the rim, which is something he needs to add to his game, especially since he’ll have a better passing center coming off the bench with him.Â
More shooting equals more space, and Holland has to take advantage as a cutter.Â
Holland needs to make 3-point shots: This is the one everyone has focused on, but it has to be said that Holland can’t shoot 25 percent from long range if he wants to stay in the rotation in the playoffs.Â
He especially needs to hit that corner 3 at a higher rate, as teams continue to give it to him.Â
It would be nice if Holland eventually blossomed into a two-way star, but if that doesn’t happen, he needs to check some of these boxes, as he can be the perfect role player next to Cade Cunningham and be the X-Factor that can transform this team.Â
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