Detroit Pistons: 2017-18 NBA season preview
Roster
Avery Bradley, SG
Reggie Bullock, SF
Dwight Buycks, PG
Andre Drummond, C
Henry Ellenson, PF
Langston Galloway, PG
Tobias Harris, SF
Reggie Jackson, PG
Stanley Johnson, SF
Luke Kennard, SG
Jon Leuer, PF
Boban Marjanovic, C
Luis Montero, SG
Eric Moreland, PF
Ish Smith, PG
Anthony Tolliver, PF
Beno Udrih, PG
Offseason Additions
Langston Galloway (free agent, Sacramento Kings), Anthony Tolliver (free agent, Sacramento Kings), Avery Bradley (trade, Boston Celtics), Luke Kennard (No. 12 overall pick, Duke), Dwight Buycks (two-way contract), Luis Montero (two-way contract)
Offseason Subtractions
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (free agent, Los Angeles Lakers), Aron Baynes (free agent, Boston Celtics), Michael Gbinije (free agent, Golden State Warriors), Marcus Morris (trade, Boston Celtics), Darrun Hilliard (trade, Houston Rockets)
Quick Thoughts
There has been plenty of discussion over the thinking behind Detroit’s strange offseason (you can check out my two cents here), but let’s ignore the process and focus on the result: Rather than lock into their core by waiting for Caldwell-Pope to sign an offer sheet and matching, they renounced him and traded for Bradley on a one-year deal.
Long-term, this gives the front office flexibility. They can postpone deciding whether or not they want to invest $20 million (give or take) into a quality 3-and-D shooting guard with limited upside, since Bradley is a free agent next summer.
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Short-term, it improves the team. Bradley is better than Caldwell-Pope on both ends. While they lost Morris in the deal, that might not be a bad thing. He is a versatile combo forward, yes, but also caused some reported chemistry rifts when he not-so-subtly called out Reggie Jackson at a players only meeting last season.
Morris was replaced with a passable 3-and-D guy in Tolliver, who makes up for his lesser skill-set with a strong locker room presence.
In adding Galloway and drafting Kennard, the team added more ball handling and shooting. Neither will likely be a part of any core lineups, but both add depth to what has consistently been one of the league’s thinnest backcourts during Stan Van Gundy’s tenure.
The frontcourt did get thinner with the loss of Baynes. If this means more minutes for Marjanovic, however, this could be another addition by subtraction. That is, if Marjanovic can keep his staggering production (23.5 points, 16.0 rebounds, 7.1 free throw attempts and 60.6 percent true shooting per-36 minutes) in a larger role.