Detroit Pistons: 2016 Offseason Grades

The Detroit Pistons didn’t make any blockbuster moves, but they re-signed their franchise player and bolstered the bench. Here are their complete 2016 offseason grades.

The Detroit Pistons may have been swept in the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs, but there’s no question that this is an Eastern Conference team on the rise.

Not only did Stan Van Gundy’s squad give the Cleveland Cavaliers their closest competition — in terms of average margin of defeat — en route to the championship, but their young core has quickly been tailor-made to fit a mold strikingly similar to the Orlando Magic team that made the NBA Finals with Dwight Howard.

With Andre Drummond serving as that trademark behemoth in the middle and SVG flanking him with perimeter shooters, the Pistons still had a few major areas to address on the roster — namely, their complete lack of depth, especially with their backup bigs.

As was the case last year, Van Gundy had another terrifically low-key summer, slowly but surely putting the puzzle pieces together to create a more promising picture of the future. Here’s a look at the Detroit Pistons’ complete 2016 offseason grades.

Next: The Draft

The Draft

When Henry Ellenson — a top-10 prospect on most draft boards — fell all the way to No. 18 in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Pistons lucked their way into the type of stretch-big that should fit in perfectly with Stan Van Gundy’s spread offense.

A seven-foot power forward from Marquette, Ellenson averaged 17.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game in his freshman season. He’s an incredibly skilled 19-year-old with range, and though he only shot 28.8 percent from deep last year, he projects to have NBA three-point range in a few years.

Ellenson is not a prolific defender, but he’s a mobile big with a polished low-post game and a fairly efficient midrange stroke. Plug him into Van Gundy’s system and he’ll be an idyllic fit once he’s able to carve out minutes for himself.

At NBA Summer League, Ellenson averaged 12.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. He only shot 31 percent from the floor and 23.1 percent from three-point range, but in his final game in Las Vegas, he finished up the tournament strong with a 22-11 double-double.

Midway through the first round, Ellenson was terrific value and there really wasn’t a better choice available given what we know about this year’s draft class so far.

At No. 49, the Pistons selected Syracuse’s Michael Gbinije, a point forward who can help an NBA team now and probably would’ve been selected much sooner if he weren’t so old. Unfortunately, Gbinije fell to the second round since he turned 24 in June, and he only played one Summer League game due to an ankle sprain.

In his senior season with the Orange, Gbinije averaged 17.5 points, 4.3 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game, shooting 46.1 percent from the floor and 39.1 percent from three-point range. As a well-rounded passer and ball handler who can play three different positions, Gbinije should be able to help Detroit’s bench right away.

Grade: A-

Next: Inking Ish

Inking Ish

Andre Drummond’s contract extension was Detroit’s top priority this summer, but their first move of free agency was actually agreeing to a three-year, $18 million deal with backup point guard Ish Smith.

No offense to Dobby the House-Elf Steve Blake, but after his lackluster season backing up Reggie Jackson off the bench, it’s safe to say that Smith represents a sizable upgrade as the first floor general off the Pistons’ bench.

Though he’s probably not a starting-caliber point guard in this league, Smith has become something of a fan favorite for his blinding speed, his ever-entertaining forays into the paint and his ability to set up teammates for easy looks.

As one of the NBA’s most well-traveled journeymen, there’s probably a reason his most successful stint as a starter came with the lowly Philadelphia 76ers, where he averaged 14.7 points, 7.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game last season.

But as a backup on a playoff-competitive team, Smith should bolster the bench, even if his horrendous three-point shooting (29.8 percent for his career, 32.9 percent last season) makes him a less than perfect fit. For only $6 million a year, this kind of upgrade over Blake is pretty much a slam dunk.

Grade: A-

Next: Drummond Extension

Drummond Extension

With a five-year, $130 million contract extension for Andre Drummond, the Pistons secured their long-term future as a team on the rise in the East. An average salary of $26 million a year seems like a lot for a player with notable flaws, but under the new salary cap, that’s more than agreeable price to pay for a franchise cornerstone.

At only 22 years old, Drummond is coming off the finest season of his career, averaging 16.2 points, 14.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.4 rebounds per game and earning All-NBA Third Team honors in the process.

Though his free throw shooting and interior defense could definitely stand to improve, Drummond is already one of the best rebounders the league has seen since the days of Dennis Rodman, and he’s only going to get better with the other facets of his game that still need work.

Because both sides agreed to wait a summer to execute this extension, the Pistons preserved valuable cap space, which they used for the Jon Leuer deal. Thanks to the good will between the two parties, Detroit got to bolster its bench and Drummond earned an extension with a starting salary of $22.2 million.

Drummond is not the next Dwight Howard just yet, but he’s still very young and with the league slowly but surely moving toward nixing those BS Hack-A-Shaq tactics that diminish his value, this franchise centerpiece is only going to get better.

For a young team looking to establish stability and start putting together playoff runs, Drummond’s extension was a no-brainer.

Grade: A-

Next: Luring Leuer

Luring Leuer

At first glance, a four-year, $42 million contract for Jon Leuer seems ludicrous. He was a backup/third string power forward for a 23-win Phoenix Suns team last year, he hardly ever cracked Memphis’ frontcourt rotation and he’s a relative unknown outside of those two cities.

However, Leuer is a far more versatile and well-rounded player than people realize, and paying $10.5 million a season for that kind of frontcourt depth — especially under the new salary cap — is not as unreasonable as it sounds.

Last year in Phoenix, Leuer had the best season of his career, averaging 8.5 points and 5.6 rebounds in just 18.7 minutes per game. He shot an efficient 48.1 percent from the floor, converted 38.2 percent of his three-pointers, and if it weren’t for Mirza Teletovic‘s scoring punch off the bench, Leuer probably would’ve had an even better year.

In Detroit, Leuer has all the trademark skills of a stretch-4 that will help him fit in with SVG’s system. He’s an effective pick-and-pop big with three-point range and a surprisingly quick first step when defenders close out too hard.

Leuer isn’t anything flashy and he’s not a very good defender, but he’s a fundamentally sound player who will help bolster a suddenly packed frontcourt, especially with Ellenson likely to take his lumps as a rookie.

For a team that likes to spread the floor and needed a player who could log minutes at the 4 or the 5, Leuer is an underrated fit. His contract is a bit more than most were expecting, but this is still a solid way to round out the second unit for another playoff run in 2016-17.

Grade: B

Next: ALL ABOARD, BOBAN

ALL ABOARD, BOBAN

Between Drummond, Leuer, Aron Baynes, Marcus Morris, Stanley Johnson, Tobias Harris and rookie Henry Ellenson, the Pistons were pretty much set with players who could log frontcourt minutes. But in order to provide an alternative to Baynes at the 5, Van Gundy went out and brought in universal fan favorite Boban Marjanovic.

Signed to a three-year, $21 million contract, Boban was quickly pried away from the San Antonio Spurs, bringing his massive 7’3″ frame to the Motor City. Though paying $7 million a year for an unproven second-year center seems excessive, Marjanovic was extremely efficient during his limited action with the Spurs.

Averaging 5.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.4 blocks in 9.4 minutes per game, Boban’s Per 36 Minutes numbers looked more impressive: 21.0 points, 13.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. Granted, Per 36 Minutes numbers always have to be taken with a grain of salt, but Marjanovic had a rare knack for getting the crowd fired up with the simplest of plays.

Boban was automatic around the rim (he should be at 7’3″), shooting 60.3 percent from the field and a relatively tidy 76.3 percent from the foul line. When opponents start pulling their Hack-A-Shaq crap on Drummond or Baynes, Marjanovic is a guy who can make them pay for it.

It remains to be seen how Van Gundy will divvy up the frontcourt minutes with so many stretch-4s and so many true 5s on the roster, but from a pure value perspective, adding an emerging player like Boban on a reasonable salary marks another under-the-radar victory for Detroit.

Grade: B

Next: Odds And Ends

Odds And Ends

Having Ish Smith on hand gives the Pistons their backup point guard, but far too often we’ve seen teams have to resort to a second- or third-string point guard due to injuries. In order to brace for that unfortunate possibility, Van Gundy went out and added Ray McCallum on a one-year minimum contract.

In three NBA seasons with three different teams, McCallum holds career averages of 6.0 points and 2.4 assists in 18.2 minutes per game, shooting 40.8 percent from the floor and 33.5 percent from three-point range.

After failing to find his NBA niche with the San Antonio Spurs, it’s hard to say McCallum is just in need of a fresh start. If you can’t make it with the Spurs, there’s a fair chance you can’t make it anywhere.

But since this is a minimum contract meant to prepare for a worst-case scenario, it’s hard to really knock the move either. McCallum — who will compete with Lorenzo Brown at training camp for the third-string point guard spot — gets a passing grade, but nothing more.

Grade: C

Next: Overall

Overall

The Detroit Pistons weren’t contenders last season and as good as their summer was, they didn’t make that leap this offseason either. That being said, Stan Van Gundy has rapidly turned an ugly roster into a young, promising core on the rise, and this summer, he put that group in a better position to be successful — both in 2016-17 and for the extended future.

By locking Drummond in with a five-year extension, the Pistons secured their franchise cornerstone. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Marcus Morris, Stanley Johnson and Tobias Harris will only get better as they continue to develop and jell together. And finally, SVG addressed what was one of the league’s worst benches last season.

Ish Smith takes care of the team’s biggest need at backup point guard. Leuer, Ellenson and Marjanovic give Van Gundy options (and perimeter shooting) off the bench in the frontcourt. None of these were blockbuster moves, but they all made Detroit a deeper, more well-rounded team.

More hoops habit: Indiana Pacers: 2016 Offseason Grades

How far will it get them in 2016-17? Only time will tell. A top-four seed could be in play, as could another first round playoff exit. But no matter what happens, Van Gundy supplied one of the last season’s best starting fives with quality players to back them up, putting the Pistons on the path to contention in the near future.

Grade: A-