Pistons: Catching up with the controversial center position

Everybody loves a good joke, and the Detroit Pistons were just that for a while this offseason. In 2020, when the rest of the NBA has moved away from prioritizing centers, it almost appeared that the Pistons had their 2K free agency filters set for “Center Only”.

New general manager Troy Weaver’s very first move back in the summer was to sign center Justin Patton, then his second pick in the 2020 NBA draft was center Isaiah Stewart at 16, and then they traded for Dewayne Dedmon.

The Detroit Pistons were the punchline of every offseason joke after Troy Weaver’s fascination with centers was revealed

Their intention was to stretch Dedmon to create more cap space, but while he was still on the roster they signed Mason Plumlee and Jahlil Okafor in the early hours of free agency. After signing Okafor, they had the contracts or rights for Isaiah Stewart, Mason Plumlee, Tony Bradley, Jahlil Okafor and Dewayne Dedmon.

Obviously, there was no way to keep all these guys, and Dedmon did indeed get stretched, Bradley was traded for Zhaire Smith (who was swiftly stretched, which saved the Pistons $100,000 versus just stretching Bradley), and the Pistons were left with a more standard three centers.

Weaver was aware of the center jokes, and he appears to be a man with a healthy and robust sense of humor because he embraced them. In a Zoom meeting with the media, he had this to say about his center philosophy:

"“Let the record show, I know there was a lot about us collecting a lot of centers. Absolutely. I love bigs. People always say they want the opposite, guards want to be bigs, bigs want to be guards. I love big guys. I believe that’s the way we win, by controlling the backboards. It’s held true. I’ve never seen a team win a championship without controlling the backboard. I welcome all the center jokes, because I do love centers.”"

Give him credit, he had targets and he wasn’t concerned about optics. Weaver’s plan was unorthodox, to say the least, and it’s likely that the initial building blocks of a retooling franchise have never been five centers before. Put that in the history books, I guess.

The jokes were fun at the time, but they’ve subsided for the reality on the ground. While Jahlil Okafor doesn’t do much for this team, Mason Plumlee has often been more than just a placeholder at the position and any concerns about a reach in the draft for Isaiah Stewart have been set aside.

Plumlee has shown flashes of playmaking brilliance with 3.2 assists per game, and only Blake Griffin has more assists among non-guards on the roster. He’s also leading the team in rebounds with 8.8 per game.

As for Stewart, it’s possible that he may end up being on the Mount Rushmore of beloved Pistons by the end of his career. He got ejected in his very first preseason game against the New York Knicks, and while it was a pretty weak ejection, it set the tone for what was to come from the rookie.

From the first moment he hit the floor in the NBA, he’s skyrocketed to the top of the list of players whose opponents absolutely despise having to go up against. He has no chill, he’s all effort and fire, and his energy is infectious. Players like Giannis Antetokounmpo have tried to track him down after games, and not for complementary reasons.

The city of Detroit has yearned for a return to the Bad Boys ethos for years, and if you’re building a team that puts a physical fear of God into opponents, you start with an Isaiah Stewart.

So in the end, the center jokes were funny and Troy Weaver enjoyed them, but the reality is that the center position has swiftly become a genuinely interesting spot to watch for the Detroit Pistons.