Detroit Pistons Offseason Outlook

The Detroit Pistons had a successful season under head coach Stan Van Gundy, but now he trades hats and focuses on the offseason as the president of the Pistons.

Every team’s goal should be to win the NBA championship and for most, anything short of that could be a failed season. However, the Detroit Pistons took a giant step forward this season by clinching their first playoff appearance in seven years.

Since falling at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 4-0 series sweep, the Pistons will turn the page and focus on improving their team in the offseason.

The top priority for the Pistons will be re-signing Andre Drummond to a new contract. The two talked about it prior to the regular season, but they put contract talks on hold as the season approached. At that point, Drummond had every intention of re-signing with the Pistons, according to Yahoo’s Kelly Dwyer.

Drummond, 22, looked like he was becoming a superstar early in the season with three 20-point, 20-rebound performances in his first six games of the season. Later in the season, Drummond entered the conversation as being among the NBA’s elite now and potentially all-time when his career is finished. But there is plenty to work on for the fourth-year player.

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Aside from extending his contract with the Pistons, Drummond needs to improve his game. He finished the season as a league-worst 35.5 percent free-throw shooter.

For a guy that shoots 7.2 free throws per game, he needs to improve because he’s costing his team games because of the Bang-A-Drum strategy that intentionally puts him on the line, which is something the NBA needs to address in the offseason. Now he needs to be, and is, open to anything to improve as a free-throw shooter.

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Drummond also needs to improve defensively to round out his good offensive game. With his 6-foot-11, 279-pound frame he needs to do a better job of protecting the rim, which doesn’t always mean going for a block. Drummond averaged 1.38 blocks per game this season, but he would often go for a block and miss, allowing an easy offensive rebound.

He doesn’t have the reach or athleticism that Hassan Whiteside does, but he plays similarly defensively when going for blocks.

If that is what Drummond wants to do defensively, he needs to shed some weight and become more athletic. He would be better suited for just defending vertically, as opposed to always going for a block.

But the Pistons have also had problems against face-up centers due to Drummond’s lack of athleticism and ability to play away from the paint. That’s an area that he needs to address in what has become a more mobile game in the front court.

Moving forward, the Pistons have other areas of their roster to address. Of note, the backup point guard and power forward positions are areas of need with the expiring contracts of Steve Blake and Anthony Tolliver. While Tolliver embodied the mindset of the Pistons, there are upgrades available in free agency and Van Gundy knows that.

The Pistons are going to have anywhere from $7 million to $14 million in cap space depending on some variables, Van Gundy told the Detroit News’ Rod Beard. With that money, the Pistons have the privilege of addressing the bench since there are no holes in their starting lineup.

Van Gundy helped solidify their starting lineup by making a trade that sent Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova to the Orlando Magic in exchange for forward Tobias Harris. Harris helped the Pistons make the playoffs as a starting forward, and has given the Pistons a firm foundation for their starting rotation moving forward.

The NBA Draft is another area where the Pistons can add talent to their bench. They’ve had some successful draft picks in recent years. They drafted Drummond ninth overall in the 2012 draft. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was the eighth overall pick in the 2013 draft and Stanley Johnson was selected eighth overall in last year’s draft.

Could the Pistons trade the pick? Possibly, according to general manager Jeff Bower.

But the Pistons should look to keep their pick and address their point guard or power forward shortages. With the 18th overall pick in the upcoming draft, the Pistons could draft Kentucky’s Tyler Ulis, Maryland’s Melo Trimble, Vanderbilt’s Wade Baldwin or Notre Dame’s Demetrius Jackson.

In DraftExpress‘ latest mock draft (April 26), they have Ulis and Trimble available when the Pistons are on the clock, but have them selecting Gonzaga forward Domantas Sabonis. Bleacher Report‘s Tyler Conway has the Pistons selecting Ulis in the first round with Baldwin and Trimble also available.

There’s plenty of time before the NBA Draft to go more in depth about the Pistons’ drafting needs or fits.

Development of the younger players is going to be key for Detroit. Johnson showed his strengths as a defender in the NBA, but also proved to be a good scorer on the offensive end. He needs to improve his game all-around, and could blossom into one of the league’s best second-year players next season.

Darrun Hilliard played in 38 games during his rookie season and averaged 4.0 points in 10.0 minutes per game. Van Gundy has confidence in Hilliard’s offensive game and work ethic, according to Beard.

Hilliard needs to continue to develop his offensive efficiency after shooting 39.7 percent from the field, though he was impressive in shooting 38.0 percent from three-point range.

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KCP’s defense is unquestionably good, but his offensive game needs some polishing. Caldwell-Pope isn’t going to be a go-to scorer with Reggie Jackson, Drummond, Marcus Morris and Harris all in the starting lineup, but he needs to improve his range for the betterment of the starting unit.

He shot a career low 30.9 percent from three-point range this season, which is down from 34.5 percent a year ago. Being able to knock down three’s with ease will make the Pistons a more complete team offensively.

While each player on the team needs to develop, these three may be the biggest in boosting the Pistons success in the upcoming 2016-17 season. The offseason will be a busy one for the organization, after a successful season that ended in a playoff appearance.

Entering the offseason, the Pistons have three priorities; re-sign Drummond and upgrade the backup point guard and power forward positions.

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With the Pistons’ early playoff exit, they will have had a full two months to work their draft board and free agency approach before the 2016 NBA Draft is open. It’s important for Van Gundy and Bower to get ahead in the process now so they can be fully ready for the NBA’s blitz of the draft and free agency.