Detroit Pistons: Top 10 moments from 2017-18 NBA season

3. The blockbuster trade

When the trade deadline rolled around in February, the Detroit Pistons and more importantly, the Los Angeles Clippers, proceeded to shock the world. After a showcase of fanfare in the offseason and the promises of making him a “Clipper for life,” Los Angeles traded five-time All-Star Blake Griffin to the Motor City.

In a deal that shocked NBA Twitter and the experts alike, Griffin was dealt from Los Angeles to Detroit in exchange for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic, a 2018 first round draft pick in 2018 and a 2019 second round pick.

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In short, the Clippers were able to alleviate their books from Griffin’s five-year, $171 million deal and bring in a player in Harris who has not fully reached his potential, but had his best season in 2017-18. They also got a solid perimeter defender in Avery Bradley, who reunited with Doc Rivers.

For the Pistons, Van Gundy made a trade in order to bring in a big name to Detroit — which is unlikely to happen via free agency — and the chance to make a playoff run down the stretch of the second half of the season.

The latter did not occur, but for at least the next four years, Griffin will be in Detroit. Moving forward, that will open up scoring opportunities, freeing up Andre Drummond from the inevitable double-team he received without a playmaker of Griffin’s caliber playing in the frontcourt.

Griffin averaged 19.8 points per game in 25 games as a Piston, posting 6.2 assists and 5.6 rebounds as well. Griffin brings experience, star power and consistency(when healthy) to a team that has yearned for a vocal superstar since winning a championship in 2004.

If Griffin stays healthy, he and Drummond can wreak havoc on the East with quality play from wing players like Reggie Bullock, Stanley Johnson and Reggie Jackson. With some tweaks in free agency, there’s no reason that the Pistons can’t play their way into the top five of the Eastern Conference with the star power present on the roster for Dwane Casey.