Ron Holland giving Pistons an unfamiliar problem

The Detroit Pistons haven’t won a playoff game under Tom Gores, a drought that is currently the longest in the NBA. 

If you had to name the biggest reason for this futility (other than Gores himself), it would be that the Pistons have not had a real star player in that time. They’ve had a bunch of good players, but not the kinds you can build consistent winners around. 

Specifically, they have not had a quality two-way wing, a talent vacuum that goes back all the way to Tayshaun Prince (here is a list of the small forwards in that stretch). We hope that ended with the drafting of Ausar Thompson, who showed signs in his rookie season of future stardom. 

And Trajan Langdon didn’t wait long to grab another high-ceiling prospect at the NBA’s most important position, choosing Ron Holland II with the 5th overall pick and surprising most draft experts in the process. 

Holland II is raw offensively, but has defended well enough in the preseason to think he’ll have a spot in the rotation. He is 4th in minutes for the Pistons in the preseason, has defended well without fouling and even though he hasn’t made many shots, he has impacted the games with his energy and defense. 

Given coach JB Bickerstaff’s modus operandi as a defense-first coach, Holland has given the kind of effort that will get him minutes. This will create an interesting problem for the Detroit Pistons. 

What happens to Ron Holland II when Ausar Thompson returns? 

There hasn’t been any recent news on Ausar Thompson or when he might be cleared by the NBA. Considering he still hasn’t been cleared and hasn’t practiced at full speed, there is a good chance he won’t be ready for the regular season that starts in nine days.

Ausar Thompson’s health is the most important thing here, so there is no need to rush him back, but he will be back at some point, which will give the wing-poor Pistons a problem they haven’t had in years, which is a bit of a logjam at forward. 

Even if Thompson doesn’t start right away, he is going to at some point and will play starter’s minutes either way. Coach Bickerstaff has already shown preference for a 9-man rotation, but he could just bump that up to 10 when Thompson returns, with Ausar getting the bulk of the minutes with Simone Fontecchio, Ron Holland and Tim Hardaway Jr. splitting the rest. 

But if Bickerstaff wants to keep a tighter rotation, someone is going to get bumped, and right now, it doesn’t look like it will be Holland, as Tim Hardaway has had a rough preseason and is not part of the long-term plans. 

This is the most talent the Pistons have had on the wing in years, which is a good problem to have after having the opposite for so long. If both Holland and Thompson blossom offensively, the Pistons could have two building blocks, as both are already good defensively.