Detroit Pistons: Additions To The Bench Key Target This Offseason
The Detroit Pistons have several young players patrolling the starting lineup. The bench, though, needs help and improvements in order to take a step forward.
When we talk about teams that can take a step forward, I’m always miffed by how the Detroit Pistons are always left out of the conversation.
Considering how well the Pistons played the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, the Pistons should be seen as a team on the rise in a rather meager Eastern Conference.
Not only do they have a great head coach in Stan Van Gundy, but the pieces on the roster are budding and on the right side of 30.
Andre Drummond (22 years old) just completed one of the best rebounding seasons in recent memory, Reggie Jackson (25) rewarded Detroit’s risk of trading and paying him $80 million with a solid season.
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Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (22) and Stanley Johnson (19) are expected to lead the next wave of defensive wings for coach Stan Van Gundy, while Marcus Morris (26) stands as the elder statesman.
Add 23-year-old forward Tobias Harris and his ability to provide a floor spacer (37 percent from three after the trade) at the power forward position and the Pistons have several players who still have room to grow in their games, while being under very affordable contracts for the next two to three years.
But the Pistons need to get some help off the bench.
Against Cleveland, Caldwell-Pope averaged 40.3 minutes per game, barely getting a chance for a breather. Harris wasn’t too far behind, averaging 39.0 minutes per game, with Jackson and Morris at 36 minutes per game each.
In short, Caldwell-Pope and Harris both played more than 80 percent of the minutes in the series.
With several players on the roster in place for the future, adding players who can contribute off the bench would be best for Detroit, just to fill some holes.
Point guard is the biggest “need” for the Pistons. Jackson is a fine player, but he also has moments where you have to yank him off the floor. Whether it be his antics on defense or occasional bad plays on offense, the Pistons just need a curve ball off the bench at lead guard.
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is the most realistic option, showing in the past that he could play alongside a point guard like Jackson.
Tyreke Evans would also be an interesting option for the Pistons. He isn’t a great shooter, but he has the ability to get in the lane and create for others as well as himself.
Coming off an injury that knocked him out after 25 games, the Pistons might be able to get him for a cheap rate and for an expiring contract, Evans could give Detroit a decent backup guard who can operate the second unit.
The second need is a third big man. Even with the arrival of Harris, that third big man spot behind him and Drummond is rather weak. Anthony Tolliver can space the floor, but he’s a bad shooter everywhere else and a poor defender.
Aron Baynes is a backup center and really nothing much else. The best move would be to add someone who can dabble at both frontcourt positions and knock both Baynes and Tolliver down one spot.
Another Pelican makes sense here. Ryan Anderson, who played under Van Gundy during his stint in Orlando, is entering free agency and could be that man. Anderson has shot better than 38 percent from three-point range in four of the last six seasons.
He doesn’t have much on the defensive end, but could create off the dribble better than most power forwards. He might be costly, but the Pistons have close to $40 million to play with in free agency.
I’m curious if the Pistons go the Donatas Motiejunas route again after failing to agree to a trade for him at the trade deadline. Motiejunas has an interesting profile — the size to play some center, the ability to space the floor and he fits Detroit’s age group at just 25 years old.
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Still, he has just one big season under his belt and has battled various injuries, mostly of the back variety, in his four seasons in Houston. The injury history is a huge question mark, but I can envision Detroit taking a chance on him at the right price.
Lastly, another guard can always help. However, I don’t think they need to go outside the roster to get an upgrade. Johnson will most likely take a step forward, relieving Caldwell-Pope and Morris (Morris was quietly fifth in the league in minutes, Caldwell-Pope was 13th) in the regular season.
Johnson showed moxie in the playoffs, but his ability as a defender will be key. If he can improve on that 30 percent shooting from three, well, he could very well be Detroit’s super sub next season.
The other player? The forgotten Jodie Meeks. Meeks played just three games last season, battling various injuries. Before that, he was a decent player off the bench, averaging 11.1 points and 34 percent from three in 2014-15.
If the Pistons could get that production, it takes off pressure from Johnson’s pending leap for at least one more season.
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The Pistons are a young team with talent at every level and an elite head coach. Still, there a few pieces away from taking the step from a decent team in the Eastern Conference.