Detroit Pistons

A new era of Detroit Pistons basketball underway, but it's not one that's generating too much excitement in the Motor City right now.

The franchise made the last of its six straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances in 2008. Since then, it has been to the playoffs three times, failing to get out of the first round on each occasion.

Acquiring Blake Griffin in January 2018 was a clear win-now move, but injuries have limited his availability since joining the team. A first-round sweep to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2019 is all the Pistons have to show from that deal.

Rather than forging ahead with a roster that had a limited ceiling, Detroit is tearing down what it can. Offloading Andre Drummond for what amounted to salary-cap relief underlined the team's current intentions. Luke Kennard was shipped out on the night of the draft, with Villanova forward Saddiq Bey coming to Detroit in the deal.

Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart and Saddiq Bey all in the same draft is a reallllly strong haul for the Pistons. Three hard-nosed defensive players. Dwane Casey is gonna love coaching these rookies. https://t.co/AGukFHyW7F

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) November 19, 2020

The Pistons hired Troy Weaver as their new general manager to oversee what's likely to be a lengthy rebuild. Drummond is gone, and Griffin turns 32 in March, so Detroit lacks a true long-term centerpiece.

As a result, the 2020-21 season could be a long one for fans.

          

2020-21 Pistons Schedule Details

Season Opener: December 23 vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

Championship Odds: +24000 (via FanDuel)

First-Half Schedule: NBA.com

         

Top Matchups

Cleveland Cavaliers (First Matchup: December 26)

It looks like the Pistons will have to tank their way to the top. The aforementioned absence of a young foundational player puts them at ground zero, and they have little in the way of trade assets to get another proven All-Star to pair with Griffin.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the same position.

The backcourt partnership of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland might be too much of a disaster defensively to work out, Kevin Love's trade value has plummeted, and Kevin Porter Jr. is the only player who might be good enough to play a key role if Cleveland becomes a contender anytime soon. First-round draft pick Isaac Okoro will help the defense but isn't a transformative talent.

Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley listed the Cavs dead last in his early 2020-21 power rankings.

Given their matching trajectories, Detroit and Cleveland are fighting for lottery position, so the outcome of their head-to-head matchups could impact where each franchise falls in the first round of the 2021 draft.

            

New York Knicks (First Matchup: February 28)

The Pistons are without a natural rival at the moment because they're likely to finish near the bottom of the league. Detroit probably won't even be able to capitalize on any lingering resentment toward the Chicago Bulls that reignited thanks to The Last Dance.

As a result, let's double up on the franchise's most obvious lottery competition.

The New York Knicks' failings have been discussed at length. Perhaps new team president Leon Rose can have more success attracting marquee free agents, but the Knicks have moved beyond the benefit of the doubt in that regard.

New York has had a top-10 pick for four straight years, and 2021 will probably make it five in a row. 

            

Season Forecast

Barring a miracle, the Pistons won't crack the top eight in the East, and the extent of their outgoing moves may not be limited to the Drummond and Kennard trades.

Derrick Rose has one more year left on his deal and might net a late first-round pick based on how he has performed the past two seasons.

Griffin is the biggest wild card. He'd presumably be valued by title contenders. His $39 million player option for 2021-22 will dissuade those teams from giving Detroit too much back in a swap. You could argue he is more valuable to the Pistons as somebody who might draw in whatever fans he can on a nightly basis.

The six-time All-Star could also be the difference between being irredeemably bad and just kinda below-average. On a bigger scale, it was the effect Bradley Beal had for the Washington Wizards in 2019-20.

Of course, the better Griffin plays, the easier it could become for Weaver to move him elsewhere.

Assuming Rose at least gets traded, a sub-30-win finish is on the table in a couple 72-game season given the questions about Griffin's future and general durability.

   

Record Prediction: 25-47

The Detroit Pistons have continued their busy offseason, reportedly agreeing to a deal with LiAngelo Ball. 

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Ball will sign a one-year, non-guaranteed contract with the Pistons. Charania added Ball agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal.

Older brother Lonzo Ball of the New Orleans Pelicans borrowed a catchphrase from another organization to congratulate the 22-year-old on Twitter:

Trust the process! S/O @JoelEmbiid https://t.co/LCovru5F49

— Lonzo Ball (@ZO2_) December 2, 2020

LaVar Ball, LiAngelo's father, noted he was "proud" to have all three sons in the NBA:

PROUD‼️ We’re just getting started. pic.twitter.com/WmcCOAsUot

— Lavar Ball (@Lavarbigballer) December 3, 2020

After not being selected in the 2018 NBA draft, Ball has spent time playing in different leagues in the United States. He played with the Los Angeles Ballers in the Junior Basketball Association, the league started by his father, LaVar Ball. 

LiAngelo spent most of last season as a practice player with the Oklahoma City Blue of the G League. The 6'5" wing didn't appear in a game with the team before the season was canceled because of the pandemic. 

The Pistons are an ideal landing spot for Ball because the front office is in the midst of trying to rebuild the organization. They are coming off a 20-46 record last season and have missed the playoffs nine times in the past 11 years. 

The Detroit Pistons signed veteran sharpshooter Wayne Ellington to a one-year, $2.6 million contract on Tuesday, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.   

Ellington, 32, appeared in 36 games for the New York Knicks last season (one start), averaging 5.1 points while shooting 35 percent from three, his lowest mark since the the 2011-12 campaign.  

Detroit has had quite the busy offseason. Here are the moves they've made so far. 

• Signed: Jerami Grant, Mason Plumlee, Josh Jackson and Jahlil Okafor.
• Drafted: French guard Killian Hayes (No. 7), Washington center Isaiah Stewart (No. 16) and Villanova wing Saddiq Bey (No. 19)
• Acquired via a very complicated trade: Delon Wright
• Acquired via a separate complicated trade: Rodney McGruder, Dzanan Musa
• Lost: Christian Wood, Luke Kennard, Bruce Brown     

The Pistons haven't gone star hunting this offseason, but the acquisition of Grant means they aren't tanking either. They are sort of splitting the difference between making win-now moves and moves for the future. They will have a very different look next year. 

And they might not be done. Veterans like Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose could always be moved for future assets or young players. By the end of the 2020-21 season, the Pistons could have a nearly completely overturned roster. 

Where does Ellington fit into all of this? Well, as a veteran toward the end of the rotation who can stretch the floor. The Pistons would be wise to give some of their younger players as much experience as possible. But Ellington's shooting means he'll have value coming off the bench as the Pistons figure out an identity this season. 

The Denver Nuggets will not be pursuing a sign-and-trade deal with the Detroit Pistons for power forward Blake Griffin, per Mike Singer of the Denver Post.

"That's definitely not happening," a Nuggets source told Singer on Friday.

Speculation about a potential deal occurred on Twitter. John Hollinger of The Athletic notably tweeted that Detroit's deals for Denver forward Jerami Grant and center Mason Plumlee earlier in the day were "enough" for the Pistons and Nuggets to hypothetically pull off a sign-and-trade for Griffin.

The 31-year-old forward averaged 15.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest during an injury-shorted 2019-20 season that lasted just 18 games. The six-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA team member averaged 24.5 points and 7.5 boards per game the year before en route to leading the Pistons to the NBA playoffs.

Griffin signed a five-year, $171.1 million contract with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2017, per Spotrac, and was traded to Detroit in January 2018. He's due nearly $36.6 million in base salary in 2020-21 and holds a roughly $39.0 million player option for 2021-22.

The Denver Nuggets appear to be running it back with the core that brought them to the Western Conference Finals minus Grant and Plumlee. All-Star center Nikola Jokic and playoff superstar point guard Jamal Murray are signed long term, and the team also has Michael Porter Jr., Gary Harris, Will Barton and Monte Morris under contract for next year.

Denver should also feature the intriguing Bol Bol, a 7'2" center who can handle the rock and knock down threes. In addition, the Nuggets added Arizona big man Zeke Nnaji and New Zealand Breakers point guard R.J. Hampton in the first round of the NBA draft on Wednesday.

The Nuggets have enough talent to compete for a Western Conference crown, although the Los Angeles Lakers figure to be title favorites once again in a loaded league. Griffin would be an excellent addition to pair with Jokic in the frontcourt, even though that doesn't appear to be coming to fruition.

At any rate, it may be best for Denver to let its young talent develop together as it searches for the first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history.

Forward Jerami Grant is heading to the Detroit Pistons after agreeing to a three-year, $60 million deal Friday.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported the news.

https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1329995673253580803

In his one season with Denver, the 26-year-old averaged 12.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists while shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 40 percent from three while adding 11.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in the postseason.

The 39th overall pick for the Philadelphia 76ers in 2014 has spent plenty of time switching teams through his first five seasons in the league. Now he's moving on again.

After two years in Philly, Grant was sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder in November 2016 for Ersan Ilyasova and a draft pick. The Syracuse alum signed a three-year, $27.3 million deal with OKC, but despite marked improvement in his game, he was traded to Denver for a 2020 first-round pick in July 2019. 

As the Nuggets have become a contender in the Western Conference, Grant filled in well off the bench behind Paul Millsap. 

He'll look to continue his career in Detroit as the 2020-21 season tips off.

Small forward Josh Jackson is finalizing a contract with the Detroit Pistons, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. 

Terms of the deal were not immediately available. 

Dwane Casey could be an ideal coach for Jackson as he tries to gather traction in his career. He was raised in Detroit. https://t.co/8IwfrXGY3T

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 21, 2020

The No. 4 overall pick of the Phoenix Suns in 2017 played 22 games for the Memphis Grizzlies last season. He averaged 9.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 17.3 minutes per game. 

Rod Beard of the Detroit News reported the deal is for two years. 

After a 2017-18 NBA season in which he landed on the All-Rookie Second Team, Jackson regressed. In July 2019, the Grizzlies traded Kyle Korver and Jevon Carter to Phoenix for Jackson, De'Anthony Melton and two future second-round picks.

Memphis initially placed Jackson with its G League squad, and he was able to reestablish his scoring touch while averaging 20.3 points per game over 26 contests. 

Now Detroit is hoping it's buying low on a 23-year-old still teeming with potential. 

The deal reunites Jackson with his former Kansas teammate Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and brings him back to the Motor City after he led Consortium College Prep School to its first state title in 2014.    

                                 

Free-agent center Jahlil Okafor is reportedly going to be a member of the Detroit Pistons.

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Okafor agreed to a two-year deal with Detroit. 

The 24-year-old averaged 8.1 points on 62.3 percent shooting and 4.2 rebounds in 15.6 minutes per game for the New Orleans Pelicans, who started the former Duke star in nine games.

The 2015 NCAA champion's career started with much promise as he averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in his rookie year with the Philadelphia 76ers, but the debut of eventual All-Star big man Joel Embiid soon pushed him into the background.

The 76ers dealt Okafor to the Brooklyn Nets in 2017. He didn't see much court time in Brooklyn, but he finally got some chances to prove himself after he signed with the Pels in the summer of 2018.

He played 59 games (24 starts) in 2018-19, averaging 8.2 points on 58.6 percent shooting and 4.7 rebounds in just 15.8 minutes per game.

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 draft was also called upon this season when the team was without center Derrick Favors, who left the team for a month in November and December to grieve the death of his mother, Deandra.

Favors' hamstring and back injuries also prompted then-Pels head coach Alvin Gentry to put Okafor in the lineup, and the big man delivered in dominant fashion at times. Most notably, he had a 25-point, 14-rebound, five-assist night in a win over the Detroit Pistons on January 13.

He also followed up a 26-point game against the Denver Nuggets in November with a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Okafor is talented enough on the offensive end, but his defense is a work in progress. Per ESPN.com, he ranks 60th among 72 qualified centers in defensive real plus-minus.

However, he's still young and has shown enough promise to at least be relied upon as a backup center. Okafor's defensive struggles and inability to spread the floor on offense may prevent a greater role right now (all but 10 of his shot attempts in 2019-20 were within 10 feet of the basket, per Basketball Reference). But he's proved capable as a spot starter and still has time to develop his game on both ends.

The Pistons needed help at center after trading Andre Drummond to the Cleveland Cavaliers in February. Wojnarowski reported on Thursday that Detroit wasn't extending a qualifying offer to Thon Maker. 

Okafor isn't a difference-maker, but the Pistons are looking at a rebuild. Committing two years to a veteran big man who can provide scoring on the offensive end is a sound investment based on where the franchise is at heading into the 2020-21 season. 

Mason Plumlee is moving on from the Denver Nuggets, reportedly agreeing to a three-year, $25 million contract with the Detroit Pistons on Friday according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Plumlee's agent, Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, relayed the news to Wojnarowski.

The center recently completed his three-year, $41 million deal with the Nuggets this season.

The big man spent most of the 2019-20 season playing off the bench behind center Nikola Jokic, where he averaged 7.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 61.5 percent from the field in 17.3 minutes per game 

Denver finished the 2019-20 season with a 46-27 record before falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals following the league-wide hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

A native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Plumlee was selected No. 22 overall in the 2013 NBA draft out of Duke by the Brooklyn Nets. After two seasons with Brooklyn, Plumlee was sent to the Portland Trail Blazers in a four-player deal in 2015. 

Portland sent him to Denver two years later for a second-round pick and cash.

Thon Maker's time with the Detroit Pistons is reportedly over. 

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Detroit Pistons decided against extending a qualifying offer to the big man. That means he will become an unrestricted free agent this offseason after appearing in 60 games for Detroit in 2019-20.

Maker entered the league when the Milwaukee Bucks selected him with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft.

Despite his size, he never lived up to the expectations that come with being a top-10 pick and averaged 4.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 13.3 minutes per game with the Bucks until they traded him to the Pistons during the 2018-19 campaign.

He put up similar numbers with Detroit and averaged 4.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 15.0 minutes per game with his second team.

While Maker has disappointed from a statistical perspective, he is still just 23 years old with plenty of potential. It would not be a surprise to see a team take a flier on him fully realizing that potential as he enters his prime and offer him a notable contract this offseason.

From Detroit's perspective, it added Isaiah Stewart during Wednesday's NBA draft and acquired Tony Bradley from the Utah Jazz. It also has Blake Griffin in its frontcourt and could bring back Christian Wood as a promising young big man.

There wasn't much room for Maker, who will now look for his next team as a free agent.

Vanderbilt guard Saben Lee, who averaged 18.6 points per game for the Commodores last year, will play pro ball for the Detroit Pistons after going 38th overall in the 2020 NBA draft.

Detroit acquired the No. 38 pick and center Tony Bradley from the Utah Jazz for future considerations, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

              

Bleacher Report Draft Expert Jonathan Wasserman's Scouting Report

Player: Saben Lee

Position: PG

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 183

Pro Comparison: Eric Bledsoe

Scouting Report: Lee could continue putting pressure on defenses with his blow-by burst and explosion in the lane. He has to continue making strides as a decision-maker and shooter, though Lee did make encouraging improvements this season to his playmaking and shot.

    

Pistons Active Roster and Average Salary (Expiration Year)

Sekou Doumbouya, SF: $3.4M (2023)

Blake Griffin, PF: $34.2M (2022)

Tony Snell, SF: $12.2M (2021)

Trevor Ariza, SF: $12.5M (2021)

Derrick Rose, PG: $7.5M (2021)

Rodney McGruder, SG: $5M (2022)

Dzanan Musa, SG: $2M (2023)

Khyri Thomas, SG: $1.3M (2021)

Killian Hayes, PG: Rookie scale contract (2024)

Isaiah Stewart, PF: Rookie scale contract (2024)

Saddiq Bey, SF: Rookie scale contract (2024)

Saben Lee, PG

     

Free Agents

Brandon Knight, PG: UFA

John Henson, PF: UFA

Langston Galloway, SG: UFA

Thon Maker, C: RFA

Christian Wood, PF: UFA

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, SG: Team option

Jordan Bone, PG: RFA

Louis King, SF: RFA

Jordan McRae: RFA

       

Lee joins a loaded Pistons class that includes three first-rounders in point guard Killian Hayes, big man Isaiah Stewart and wing Saddiq Bey.

The rebuild under new general manager Troy Weaver is fully underway as the executive looks to remake a franchise that has not won a playoff series since 2008.