Another bad news hits the Detroit Piston: The head coach of the Detroit Piston head shed tears as four of his star players made a final decision…
Season high: on April 3, Malachi Flynn scored 50 points in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks while trying his best Tony Delk impression.
How it came to an end
Was it ever truly initiated? Following their $78.5 million acquisition of Monty Williams as their next head coach, the rebuilding Pistons were anticipated to make a major leap forward. After all, the team was starting the third year of the Cade Cunningham era, and the 2022 draft had produced two excellent picks, manchild center Jalen Duren and speedy scoring guard Jaden Ivey. Cunningham’s return to health following a 12-game campaign would undoubtedly draw attention to these Pistons.
They made headlines when they started the 2024 season with a 3-29 record after dropping 28 straight games.
Williams failed to establish himself as a coach capable of leading the Suns from a winning environment to one that was rebuilding, as seen by the uneven playing time he gave to rookie wing Ausar Thompson and Ivey. Instead, Williams went with Killian Hayes, the former No. 7 overall pick, because he liked his defensive style of play. After appearing in 42 games, Hayes was waived and hasn’t been able to settle in with a new team.
At the deadline, the Pistons made trades to replace Bojan Bogdanović and Alec Burks, who were sent to New York, with 28-year-old Italian sharpshooter Simone Fontecchio. Being a restricted free agent, the 6-foot-8 wing will need to negotiate with the Pistons this summer.
Obviously, the Pistons didn’t get the playoffs and will now try to put together a club that won’t finish as the bottom team in the league the following year. They will undoubtedly choose in the top five this year, but even though it would seem like a quick fix to improve their roster, there isn’t much reason for optimism with this draft class.
Troy Weaver, the general manager, cannot thus count on a draft pick to keep the team afloat. To best develop that relationship, he’ll need to make astute decisions in free agency, be forceful in the trade market, and figure out how to bring Williams and his team together. It won’t be simple.
The Pistons don’t have the luxury of being selective. Their league ranking for holding on to the ball, 25th in defensive effectiveness, and 29th in 3-point shooting. They require a high-scoring wing who, without compromising their upside, can spread the floor and serve as the link between Cunningham, Ivey, and Duren. At numerous positions, great shooting will suffice in the interim if said player is unavailable.
ambiance within the organization
The Pistons currently hold the sole front-office position available in the NBA, and this will likely set the stage for an exciting offseason in Detroit. General manager Troy Weaver will stay in his role in the interim as the team looks for a new president of basketball operations, according to an announcement made by the ownership. League personnel anticipate that the Pistons will look to hire elite executives for the role, hoping to bring in prominent names like former Bob Myers designed the Warriors, according to sources. It will be in Detroit’s best advantage to sit out the first few rounds of the playoffs and observe any fallout from a rival team’s postseason setback in order to increase the size of that pool and ensure the Pistons secure a solid contender for the position. Furthermore, sources stated that the idea is that the incoming president will have the power to fire Weaver from his position, contingent on the caliber of executive the Pistons are able to bring on board to collaborate with head coach Monty Williams.
In addition to having the best chance of landing the first selection in this year’s draft, the Pistons have access to about $70 million in cap space this summer. If a team ever existed to look Detroit would be the team to deal a top-five pick, since they are already well-stocked with lottery selections from recent rebuilding seasons and are getting closer to a draft that evaluators don’t think will include a ton of elite talent. Finding a trade partner ready to pay a premium to choose at that slot will be challenging for any team choosing at the top of this draft, though, because of that dynamic. Until this new president takes over, it is hard to forecast what roles or which way the Pistons will go from there. However, it appears reasonable to state that the overall view among NBA talent evaluators is that Cade Cunningham has demonstrated enough to warrant a puncher’s salary despite all the hardship and defeat in Detroit this past season.
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