OUT
Darius Garland
Frank Nkilitina
Kaiser Gates
Ivan Rabb
Brandon Mccoy
Damian Jones
Stephen Zimmerman
Tyus Battle
CHA ‘31 1st
NOLA ‘32 2nd
IN
Isaiah Cousins
Nassir Little
Justise Winslow
Daniel Hamilton
Jalen Johnson
Isaiah Stewart
Herb Jones
5 first round picks (DET ’30, PHI ’31, NOLA ’32, PHX ’32, UTA ’32)
5 second round picks (PHX ’30, LAL ’31, CHA ’31, DET ’31, PHX ’32)
Darius Garland (foreground) being replaced by new Piston Isaiah Stewart (background)
For many fans in Southeast Michigan, losing the old Pistons core will surely be a tough pill to swallow. The departures of players like 2x CSL-All Defense 1st team Kaiser Gates, All-Star Frank Nkilitina, and former #1 pick Darius Garland mean a lot of fans woke up today with irrelevant jerseys and posters. The true fans will also feel the absence of the engines behind the perennial 50-win roster, such as reliable big men Ivan Rabb, Brandon McCoy, and Damian Jones.
Over the past few years, the Pistons had built a roster that was a lock for regular season success but couldn’t make any ground in the playoffs. So, like that fateful day in November 3, 2008 when Joe Dumars traded Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson, the front office felt like it was time to shake up everything. I guess sometimes you just have to move fast and break things if you want to reach new heights. Or, you know, it’s more fun to rip up everything and start over than it is to inherit a boringly well-constructed team.
But what was it all for? Most exciting for fans (and keyboard GMs) are the prospects and draft picks acquired. A net gain of four 1st round picks and five respectable 2nd round picks means that the Pistons now have the richest room draft war chest in the league with seven first round picks in the next three drafts. Prospects Jalen Johnson, Isaiah Stewart, and Herb Jones could also excite Pistons fans if they reach their potentials and are coached on their ball actions. Isaiah Stewart in particular is already destined to be a fan favorite due to the ready availability of images of him in a Pistons jersey. But don’t sleep on Jalen Johnson, who has the potential to be one of the better stretch fours in the CSL.
But perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Pistons is the short-term roster. This newly assembled roster should serve as a case study for CSL GMs in how to coach a team with unbelievably talented but hard-headed and inefficient wingers. Nassir Little, Justise Winslow, and Daniel Hamilton all possess serious skills, and combined create one of the best rebounding, defending, and foul-drawing wing combos in perhaps CSL history. But to have all three on the court at the same time will be to sacrifice to the gods at the alter of beautiful basketball, for this will be one of the grossest and grittiest basketball squads ever assembled. Paired with the once-tenacious but since tarnished Isaiah Cousins and it will be hard to take your eyes off of this Pistons team.
Little's 36% shooting through 13 games shows that there's work to be done in Detroit.
In two seasons, the Pistons will have a massive influx of new talent via the draft. But in the meantime, new GM TWW will have fun taking on one of the more obscene challenges in recent CSL memory: Turning Nassir Little-Daniel Hamilton-Justise Winslow into a working trio without a legitimate PG or C on the roster. Godspeed Detroit, godspeed.
2020, 2023, 2027
