SteemSports Presenter:
SteemSports Editor:
The Detroit Pistons were projected to be a mediocre team during this 2017-2018 NBA Season. They were expected to finish in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference and if everything came together perfectly, they could make a run and snag one of the final playoff spots, destined to be knocked out in the first round.
Then a strange thing happened. They opened the season on a tear, jumping out to a 10-3 record through their first 13 contests and looked like a team to be feared. Star center Andre Drummond seemed to be coming into his own, while Tobias Harris looked to be on the brink of a breakout season on both ends of the floor. Combined with their dynamic point guard in Reggie Jackson and lock-down wing defender Avery Bradley, perhaps Pistons’ coach Stan Van Gundy had something with this bunch.
Through 40 games, they had leveled off a bit, falling to a 22-18 record. That still put them right in the middle of the playoff picture, and as a team they gave the fans plenty to cheer about in their debut season at Little Caesars Arena.
Then, the bottom dropped out. Reggie Jackson went down with an ankle injury in late December and the team just hasn’t been the same since. They have dropped eight games in a row, falling to 22-26, 2 ½ games behind the 76ers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the conference.
There have been rumblings in recent weeks that the Pistons were going to be aggressive as the trade deadline approached. Many believed they would start to sell off any ancillary parts that they could, you know, build for the future. Avery Bradley was almost certain to be dealt, as he carried an expiring contract and would walk away for nothing at season’s end.
So naturally, when word came down on Monday that the Pistons had sent Bradley, Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovich, a first round pick and a second round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for superstar Blake Griffin, Willie Reed and Brice Johnson, Pistons fans and the rest of the collective basketball world were left scratching their heads.
Don’t get me wrong, Blake Griffin is a tremendous player when he’s on the floor. But is he a game-changer? The kind of player who can convince other star players to come to a destination in the Midwest? Or the type of player who can lead his team to an NBA Championship? I’m skeptical on both fronts.
Then there’s the aspect of salary. Griffin isn’t cheap. He’s locked into a five-year deal that will pay him an outrageous $35 million per season. Combine that with the $23-$28.5 million that Drummond is owed through the 2020-2021 season, and it doesn’t leave the Pistons with much financial flexibility.
For a club that’s supposedly building for the future, surrendering a first and second round pick in the deal is also a tough swallow. To be fair though, Van Gundy hasn’t done a good job of drafting during his time in Detroit, so there’s a reasonable chance that the picks would have been squandered anyhow.
It could also be that Van Gundy is trying to save his own job here. By making the moves that he can to win as many games as possible and sneak into the playoffs this season, perhaps he buys himself at least another year to make it work in Detroit. Had they fallen apart and tanked the rest of the way, there’s a very real chance that ownership could have decided to go in a different direction in the front office and at head coach.
If Griffin can stay on the court and avoid the chronic knee issues that have plagued him throughout his career, the Pistons should settle into the middle of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference for the next few seasons. Perhaps that’s enough for them. Maybe the goal is to keep the fans entertained and fill as many seats as possible at their new arena. I just fail to see a path where this roster as constructed will be able to make a run at a title.
