Detroit Pistons preseason grades: The good, the bad and the ugly
By Duncan Smith
Detroit Pistons tier 1 players
Sekou Doumbouya: A
After the near-total turnover that the Pistons’ roster experienced in the offseason, it almost seemed as though there was no role for Sekou Doumbouya on this team. Would new general manager Troy Weaver so easily give up on a raw but talented 19-year-old in favor of the shiny new objects he had assembled? Well, if that was the plan, Doumbouya isn’t going to make it easy. He had a fantastic preseason and showed exactly what the Pistons have been wanting to see out of him.
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Josh Jackson: A
Josh Jackson is the runaway winner of the preseason “Piston Newcomer” award. In spite of the fact that his role in the rotation is not yet perfectly clear, he was an absolute standout. The Pistons couldn’t have asked much more from him as he scored 10.8 points per game on shooting splits of .485/.500/1.000. He showed a defensive tenacity and physical presence, particularly in a sequence guarding Bradley Beal in the third game of the preseason. Jackson is another player whose stock is rising for the Detroit Pistons.
Delon Wright: A-
Delon Wright came to the Pistons in free agency with the expectation of being a solid veteran presence as a guy who can do a little bit of everything. He didn’t blow anybody away in the preseason, but he did indeed live up to those goals and more in a quietly effective four-game span. He scored 7.0 points in 16.9 minutes per game and shot 58.8 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from 3-point range. Wright had seven assists and no turnovers, and you can’t ask for a whole lot more out of him than he delivered in the preseason.