The 2030-31 Detroit Pistons

[TheTwoWallaces]

W-L 18-64 (15th in East)

Depth Chart

Elie Okobo | Facundo Campazzo
Vit Krejci | Duane Notice
Daniel Hamilton | Corey Kispert
Jalen Johnson | Jaden McDaniels
Isaiah Stewart | Georgis Papagiannis

Shooting
eFG: 46.2 (28)
DeFG: 48.0 (6)

Turnovers
TOV: 12.7 (23)
DTOV: 11.5 (11)

Rebounding
ORBR: 21.2 (30)
DRBR: 68.6 (29)

Free Throws
OFTR: 21.1 (29)
DFTR: 24.6 (3)

On-the-court

The Pistons must have had one of the worst offensive seasons in CSL history. They shot the ball a lousy 41% and a mediocre 36% from deep, making them one of the least efficient offenses in the league. They were also below average at holding onto the ball, likely due to the lack of a reliable PG on the roster. The Pistons were also the worst rebounding team in the CSL, meaning all that inefficient shooting also spelt the end of possessions. On top of all that, they were incapable of getting to the line, which, in conjunction with their low FGA, is probably a symptom of their lack of inside presence.

Key players

The woeful Pistons should find some optimism in the fact they they are one of the youngest teams in the CSL. This season, Jalen Johnson improved his all-around game, becoming both a more comfortable shooter and more aggressive rebounder and defender. Meanwhile, rookies Vit Krejci and Corey Kispert were both asked to do a lot this season and were in the rotation from day one. 3rd-year player Isaiah Stewart was their only consistent inside presence. Getting Stewart help inside will likely be a high priority this offseason.

Potential depth chart

Vit Krejci | Facundo Campazzo | Daniel Hamilton
Kevin Porter Jr | Duane Notice | Mojave King
Corey Kispert | Kenyon Martin Jr
Jalen Johnson | Jaden McDaniels
Isaiah Stewart | Filip Petrusev

Financial outlook

The Pistons are currently deep in the red but have a light on the horizon in 2 seasons time when the Daniel Hamilton and Mario Hezonja contracts come off the books. By that point, the Pistons will be swimming in rookie contracts with the only guys awaiting their paydays before then are Jaden McDaniels this season and Isaiah Stewart next season, as well as expiring veterans Kevin Porter and Duane Notice.

Storylines

These are not your father's (or Jon's) Pistons. Year 2 of TheTwoWallaces rebuild was a dip into the abyss of the CSL. Offseason trades of Justise Winslow, Nassir Little, and Alen Smailagic meant that this season's team would inevitably be uncompetitive. The hope for the FO and the fans is that this will only be temporary. And it better be, because maaaan the Pistons sucked. A mismash of veterans (Okobo, Yurtseven, Hamilton, Campazzo) and youngsters (Johnson, Stewart, Krejci, Kispert) completely failed to gel on the court.
Next season there will be fewer veterans with guys like Okobo, Yurtseven, Bandoo, and Papagiannis all departing. Entering is Kevin Porter Jr, whose career has plateaued and will be looking to earn his next paycheck. Interestingly, the Pistons used their #5 pick to a player who is expected to be remarkably similar to KPJ: Mojave King. Next season will also see increased roles for the youngsters, several of whom are riding scoring boosts up the depth chart. The new core will be supported by a whopping 6 1st rd picks in the next 2 drafts. However, without addressing their terrible interior scoring and rebounding, this season is likely to be another one to forget in Detroit.

[rh0xxy]

Nice read. The Pistons is in good hands i may say. Just continue and be extra patience with the plan and hopefully you get the star power the soonest the possible. I like the core of Krejci, Mojave, and Johnson but it seems the team needs a legit superstar to make some noise.

Overall the offense needs to improve and Mojave seems not ready to help on that category just yet. Defense is good though and will get better as the years progresses.

[OneNole]

Rebuilds like this are fun.

I just hope for Detroits sake that a trade doesn't materialize that I hear is being worked on

[blackice]

I really appreciate the detail and effort that went into this article, very intricate! I think you'll be well positioned to target FA's and price drive in order to obtain value on the open market and of course all those picks will convey and provide you with additional leverage. Well done, and I hope Mojave King works out for you! Maybe he turns into a Bernard King type? Goodluck with your rebuild TheTwoWallaces!

[Andrewu91]

Doing a great job so far.

I remember when you traded for those picks, people thought they wouldn't be lottery. But a lot of those picks look like good ones.

[hardenwithnod]

You have done a great job gathering bunch of picks while setting up for a long term rebuild. If you can land one of those true alphas with one of those picks, then your rebuild should accelerate by a lot.

[GreenBear]

Definitely took things down to the studs this year, but the forecast is looking quite nice. I think the Pistons will be competitive sooner than later. It won’t be this upcoming year (although you will be noticeably improved), but I could see the Pistons making a push for the play-in the following season.

Wiseman will really help your interior immediately. You were incredibly fortunate to get rookie boosts to both Krejci and Kispert last year (don’t take this for granted). Mojave King projects to be a 2-way star for your backcourt. And even after trading a couple away, you still have a number of promising-looking firsts the next couple years.

Jon obviously did a nice job leaving you some great assets to work with, but you’ve done a near perfect job with your trades to accelerate the rebuild process.

[bt]

You've got some nice pieces like mentioned above and Wiseman is pretty nice. Just hope that with the Suns making moves and trading Tatum and Lawson that the pick doesn't turn out to be too good but you do have Wiseman from it which is a solid tradeoff.

[TheTwoWallaces]

I still have the Suns pick. I traded away the NOLA and SAS picks, which still could backfire but we're excited to have Wiseman.

[bt]

Oh yeah, got that mixed up.

Good stuff

[Flaming Homer]

I really like the core of this new Pistons team.

Krejci needed exactly this boost to unlock his offense besides already great defense, King could be the dynamic scorer the team lacks so far, Jalen Johnson is a good defender and serious outside thread. And now add also one of the best young defense center to the mix.

A real PG seems to be missing yet, but having 5 more 1st rounder over the next 3 years should help with that problem.

[mgtr81]

Patience is the key. The Mojave addition was a very good one.