Detroit Pistons: 5 biggest disappointments from 2017-18 NBA season

2. Draft pick struggles

The easiest way for a team to improve in the NBA is through the draft. If you are able to find cheap, cost-controlled talent, you are able to spend resources elsewhere to acquire established talent. Unfortunately for Detroit, their recent draft picks have not panned out well.

Stanley Johnson was the eighth overall pick in 2015 but has not played as a lottery selection should. He has yet to truly break out, as he averaged 8.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.6 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. His offensive game is a mess, as he is a career 37 percent shooter and 29.5 percent shooter from the 3-point line. To put into perspective how poor he has been on offense, his offensive rating of 97 this season was a career-high, according to Basketball-Reference.

Luke Kennard didn’t have a great rookie season, some of which wasn’t his fault. Adding so many players at his position never gave the Pistons a chance to really see what the 12th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft had. His 41.5 percent shooting from the 3-point line is very encouraging.

Henry Ellenson was selected with the 18th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. Despite the lack of options in the frontcourt, Ellenson still couldn’t consistently crack the Detroit’s rotation. Ellenson actually doubled the number of games he appeared in from his rookie season, getting action in 38 games. However, he received only 329 minutes of playing time.

The Pistons have been unable to develop its young talent, which is a big reason they are where they’re at. Arguably the best player selected by the Pistons in the past four years is Spencer Dinwiddie, who has broken out with the Brooklyn Nets since being given a chance to play.

Unless their pick lands in the top-four this year, it will be sent over to the Clippers, so they are likely to miss out on a lottery talent in a loaded draft unless they get lucky in the NBA Draft Lottery.