Dwane Casey didn't think he was walking into a rebuilding situation. The Detroit Pistons had finished 39-43, ninth in the East, in 2017-18, and they employed two players on max contracts: Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond. The franchise was dead-set on making the playoffs when they hired Casey as coach.
And they did that, but just barely. Griffin played the most complete basketball of his career, serving as the hub of the offense and a floor-spacer as well as the Pistons' top scoring option, all of which added up to a spot on the All-NBA third team and a 41-41 record. He injured his knee late in the regular season, though, and missed the first two games of their first-round series against the No. 1-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. Griffin's return wasn't enough for Detroit to avoid a sweep, and he required surgery two days later.
Anticlimactic as it was, 2018-19 was a dream season compared to the one that followed. It was clear early in 2019-20 that Griffin wasn't himself coming off the surgery, so he had another surgery in January. This, plus the fact that guards Luke Kennard and Reggie Jackson had their own injury issues, pushed the Pistons into the pivot they never wanted to make. They dumped Drummond at the deadline, waived Jackson and fellow veteran Marcus Morris and let their young guys play.
The bright spot was Christian Wood, but the hiatus -- and their 20-46 record -- cut his breakout short. In June, Detroit hired Troy Weaver as its new general manager, handing him a team that was not built to win now, but, because of the presence of Griffin (and his $39 million 2021-22 player option), was not in an ideal position to tank, either. After Weaver's first offseason in charge, much of the roster is different, but they remain in a hazy place.
Wood is gone, as the Pistons effectively chose to replace him with free agent forward Jerami Grant, signed away from the Nuggets for three years and $60 million. Kennard and young, defensive-minded guard Bruce Brown are gone, too, sent to the Clippers (along with four second-round picks) in a three-team trade that allowed Detroit to draft 3-and-D forward Saddiq Bey with the No. 19 pick in the draft.
The Pistons landed 6-foot-5 floor general Killian Hayes with the seventh pick and 6-foot-9 powerhouse Isaiah Stewart with the 16th pick. They signed Grant's Denver teammate Mason Plumlee to a three-year contract worth about $25 million. They nabbed shifty guard Delon Wright from the Mavericks and picked up Josh Jackson for the room exception after his promising stint in Memphis.
To facilitate all these moves, they waived and stretched the contracts of Dewayne Dedmon and Zhaire Smith, two players they'd acquired with no intention of keeping around. Weaver's approach was creative, but not particularly popular. It is now Casey's job to turn these pieces into a coherent team, a task that will be monumentally easier if Griffin can play like he did a couple of years ago.
Taking the temperature
Pistons believer: I wonder how much hate the Pistons would've gotten if the news hadn't trickled out the way it did. Everybody got their jokes off about them having a million bigs, but, as Plumlee said, they were obviously never going to carry all of them into the season. If you just look at what they had at the end of last season and what they have now, it's not that hard to understand what they're doing.
Also: Griffin is healthy! He is by far their most important addition.
Pistons skeptic: I'm not going to overreact to preseason basketball, but I haven't been encouraged by what I've seen from Griffin so far. As for the rest of it, I mean, it was an objectively terrible offseason, but I'm extremely curious about how you're going to defend it.
Also: As long as we're referencing media week quotes, Weaver didn't help himself when he went on and on about how much he loves centers.
Pistons believer: They drafted their point guard of the future and reshaped the rotation. Hayes is a special passer with an extremely high ceiling. That's the headline.
Then there's Grant, a versatile defender and improved shooter who wanted an opportunity to show he can do more. He's still just 26. Plumlee will set screens, play solid defense and facilitate a bit. Wright, a sneaky acquisition, brings some herky-jerky playmaking. All these guys played meaningful roles for playoff teams last year.
Beyond that, I love that they got Bey, a big 3-and-D guy, and brought back Wayne Ellington, a veteran sharpshooter. I think Jackson and Rodney McGruder are both worth a shot, too. Is that enough for you?
Pistons skeptic: Nothing to say about using the No. 16 pick on a big? How about the Jahlil Okafor signing? Do you have high hopes for Deividas Sirvydas, too?
I'll be blunt: Nobody is saying that the Pistons added a bunch of bad basketball players. You can add good players and have an awful offseason. In fact, it's easy! Just overpay them!
Maybe Grant can expand his game and live up to the contract. I can't point to any evidence suggesting that he will, though. Good teams sign decent bigs for the minimum, but this bad team talked itself into signing Plumlee for three years at more than $8 million a pop. You're not going to make me explain why it's mind-blowing that they had to use the stretch provision on two contracts, sent the Clippers four second-round picks and lost the three best young players from last season's roster, are you?
Pistons believer: If I hear about the stretch provision one more time, I'll lose it. Why do we applaud when teams use their cap space to absorb huge contracts and then freak out about a few million in this situation?
I look at this roster and I see quality playmaking from Griffin, Hayes, Rose and Wright. I see elite shooting from Svi Mykhailiuk, Ellington and Bey. I see athleticism and versatility from Grant, Jackson and Sekou Doumbouya. I see toughness and size from Plumlee and Stewart. I'm not going to get too far ahead of myself with a bold prediction, but it's weird that there seems to be a consensus that teams like Chicago, Charlotte and Washington will be better than the Pistons. Can you at least admit that the negativity has been extreme? Can you admit that they might have done one or two good things?
Pistons skeptic: Here's as far as I can go: Hayes might be an awesome pick, but he desperately needs to fix that jumper. I like the Wright pickup, even though at 28 he's older than people think. I like Bey, and I agree that Jackson and McGruder were worth a shot. I'm interested in Grant's adventures in playmaking, even though I'm not optimistic about it, and I'm sure Plumlee will be fine, even though I didn't like the contract. This team is still going to be below average on both ends.
Happy?
Pistons believer: Sigh. Griffin has more help than he did two years ago, so I think they can be average on offense if he returns to something resembling his All-NBA form. And Casey sounds extremely pleased with the defense right now. If he's saying similar stuff in a few weeks, then some apologies will be in order.
Eye on: Sekou Doumbouya
The No. 15 pick in the 2019 draft, Doumbouya is an extremely raw but intriguing forward. He seemed to be breaking out for a couple of weeks at the beginning of the calendar year, but then he fell back to earth. The athleticism and physical tools are obvious, and in theory he can be a strong multipositional defender.
There is a long way to go, though. As a rookie, Doumbouya was not a shooter, not a screener and certainly not a creator. He was also the youngest player in the NBA. (He just turned 20). Give him time.
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Back again: The 2020-21 Detroit Pistons season preview, starring Blake Griffin and an assortment of additions - CBS Sports
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