Subscribe
Follow Us
Let's be blunt: it's over for the Detroit Pistons. Not just for this season, but for the next couple of years as well.
With Blake Griffin undergoing knee surgery, the 2019-20 campaign has come to a screeching halt for a Pistons team that wasn't going anywhere even with a healthy Griffin.
Detroit is also rumored to be shopping around Andre Drummond ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline, and with Griffin likely done for the season and Drummond set to hit free agency this coming summer, it would be silly for the Pistons not to do everything in their power to get a deal done.
It's time for Detroit to reboot.
That isn't going to be easy, especially with Griffin—whose NBA career is probably in serious jeopardy—making $34.2 million this season, $36.6 million next year and having a $39 million player option for the 2021-22 season that, at this point, he will probably pick up. But the Pistons at least need to make a concerted effort toward rebuilding.
It's honestly something Detroit should have done years ago rather than just trying to patch holes with bubblegum or swinging a trade for Griffin two seasons ago, but it's better to do it late than never.
That means trying to trade Drummond, even if the return isn't optimal (he probably isn't re-signing anyway, and if he does, it would just set the Pistons back even further). That means doing whatever you can to re-home Reggie Jackson, even thought he has barely played this season due to back issues. That means attempting to move Derrick Rose to a contender.
There are absolutely avenues Detroit can take toward hitting the reset button, and while it certainly isn't a one- or two-step process, it's something that can be accomplished with baby steps.
Some organizations are better at it than others. That much is true. Just look at the Sacramento Kings and New York Knicks, two franchises that have been “rebuilding” since the middle ages.
But just because there is variation in terms of degrees of success around the NBA should not deter the Pistons from trying to take this path.
In reality, Detroit has been the definition of a treadmill team since its run of six straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances ended in 2008.
The Pistons have been good enough to push for a playoff spot or earn a low playoff seed, but not good enough to actually achieve anything of significance.
In turn, Detroit has also been unable to land any high draft picks, because this is a franchise that consistently wins around 30 games or more, which is generally not bad enough to get a top-three choice unless you have some great lottery luck.
With Griffin done for the season, it's time for the Pistons to embrace the tank. Yes, it's cliche, but it's the only way for Detroit to get out of his hole it has been in for the last decade.
The Pistons stink anyway. They might as well stink better than anyone else.
