Detroit Pistons: Has Joel Anthony Got Anything To Offer?

In a move that caught many off-guard, the Detroit Pistons traded Will Bynum to the Boston Celtics Friday. In return, the Pistons received veteran center Joel Anthony, who has an opportunity to leave his mark with the current confusion over the Pistons big man rotation.

While Bynum was acquired by the Celtics with the intention of waiving or trading him to save cap space, Anthony has every chance of making the Pistons final roster.

More from Detroit Pistons

The Pistons are a little thin at center, and as the season grows ever nearer that can only be a concern for Stan Van Gundy.

Andre Drummond

is the undisputed starter, and star of the franchise, but there are plenty of decisions still to be made behind him.

The Pistons signed Aaron Gray to a multi-year contract earlier this summer with the intention of him being Drummond’s backup, but a lot has changed since then. Gray, who already had a history of such problems, suffered a cardiac episode during a workout back in August, and has been ruled out indefinitely.

Depending on Gray’s condition, and his assessment by team doctors, this could leave the Pistons with decisions to make. The Pistons need to waive one more player before Monday’s deadline, and it’s more than plausible that Gray could be that man, due to his unfortunate health issues.

Other than Gray, the Pistons other backup option is a bit more muddled. Power forward Greg Monroe is more than capable of slotting over to the center spot if needed, but it’s more a question of whether Detroit wants Monroe playing minutes at the 5 spot.

With Van Gundy already trying to figure out the Josh Smith and Greg Monroe positional dilemma, the last thing the Pistons need is to push another player out of position, and potentially create greater headaches on how the players fit within the rotation.

All of this will play into Joel Anthony’s hands, and give him an opportunity to show more of his worth than perhaps he has had the chance to in recent years. Anthony has spent much of what would generally be considered a big man’s prime as a backup in Miami, and although he had limited playing opportunities, he has two championships to show for it, and as a result, likely few regrets.

For his career, Anthony averages 2.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 16 minutes per game, but that doesn’t highlight the role Anthony plays on the court. More than anything else, the 32-year-old’s game is about offering a defensive presence, setting screens, and working inside.

Aside from bringing that to court for the Pistons with his own minutes, Detroit will be hoping that Anthony will pass some of his wealth of experience on to Andre Drummond. Anthony has indicated to MLive.com that that is something he is more than willing to do also:

"Anything I can do to help a talented young big like that, that we have, it’s more a collective…"

Anthony continued:

"I was out here in practice and guys were helping me out, talking to me, letting me know the different things, how they do things and how they run things, as we went through practice. We’re all going to helping each other. That’s a big key for us."

The Pistons will hope that those words prove to be true, and time will tell if, at age 32, Joel Anthony really has anything left in the tank.

Home/Detroit Pistons