Detroit Pistons: 4 keys to success this season

Detroit Pistons goal No. 4: Turn Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin into… something

A recent development for the Detroit Pistons is that they don’t seem to get max value. They traded Andre Drummond for two expiring contracts and a 2023 second-round pick as the final personnel move under Ed Stefanski. They traded Bruce Brown for a worse, more expensive player in Dzanan Musa.

Stefanski’s Pistons couldn’t find suitors for Markieff Morris or Reggie Jackson, bought them out and then saw them swiftly snatched up by the two Los Angeles teams and used as major rotational pieces in the NBA playoffs.

This coming season will be important for a variety of reasons, including seeing Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin develop trade value for the trade deadline.

Rose is expiring and on a team-friendly contract, so generating some value from him is essential. A great season from Blake Griffin could put the Pistons in position to trade him to a contender, and his skillset could be a vital addition to a number of teams looking to get over the hump (especially in the Western Conference).

Griffin shouldn’t be moved as negative value, but if the opportunity arises Weaver should snatch it up. And that goes for basically anybody else on this roster outside of Killian Hayes. While the Pistons have struggled to acquire assets in recent months, that should be job number one going forward for the front office.