Detroit Pistons: 5 takeaways from the 2017-18 NBA season

3. This supporting cast has potential, but has room to improve

Of course, starters are the first priority when it comes to overall success, but there are plenty of ways to get crafty in building a solid supporting cast this summer. That will really help build depth and teamwork from a culture and basketball perspective.

The Utah Jazz are a great example of this, who lost a huge free agent in Gordon Hayward and ended up with a collaborative effort from savvy players to create a highly competitive playoff team amidst the highly competitive Western Conference. So big names only take a team so far.

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The trade package the Pistons sent out might have seemed ill-advised, and a lot of people weren’t thrilled. But accepting what the Pistons were trying to accomplish, it was a “no guts, no glory” move.

They sent out some excellent pieces in Avery Bradley and Tobias Harris, as well as several coveted draft picks for essentially just Blake Griffin. As much as it hurt to lose those guys, Griffin will prove to be a legitimate alpha dog, and if he is surrounded with the right pieces, he could really help the Pistons’ future.

However, the one loss that occurred here that is hard to swallow is the efficiency monster in Boban Marjanovic. It’s hard to believe that Detroit could not have played hardball to make the deal happen and still keep the big man.

Aside from that, the Pistons have some great veteran options that should either make for useful locker room presences, or at the least viable trade bait.

Guys who are on the books for next season that should be held on to are big man Jon Leuer, and competant guard options of Ish Smith, Jameer Nelson and Langston Galloway. Should Reggie Jackson go down again, these guys will prove to be very valuable to the Pistons’ depth chart.

The one thing that this bench needs, however, is some more athleticism and youth.