In second-to-last place in the Eastern Conference and third-worst record of the season with 23 wins and 59 losses, the Pistons will miss the playoffs for the third season in a row.
After recovering the No. 1 of the last Draft, Cade Cunningham, Detroit could consider progress in the standings. But it will take much more to put the Pistons back in the place they were in the 1980s and, later, in the early 2000s.
“We didn’t have enough athletic qualities in our indoor sector”
Landed in Michigan in the summer of 2020 as GM, after several years with Sam Presti in Oklahoma City, Troy Weaver is in any case satisfied with the progress of his young troop internally.
For his first in the costume of decision maker, he believes that he still has room for improvement. Like his players.
“I am in the fray with the coaches and I think I have progressed as the season progresses”, explique Troy Weaver in the Detroit Free Press. “We talked about it with Coach Casey, I didn’t give him enough tools and the Bagley trade was a big thing for us. We didn’t have enough athletic qualities in our indoor sector. We needed to change that and we did. I feel better after acquiring this young player who fills a gap in our squad. As for the team, it will be a very important off-season for the management team and myself. I look forward to taking on this challenge. »
With a hard core of players starting to take shape around Cade Cunningham, including Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes who have all shown signs of progress this campaign, the Pistons want to keep building. Brick by brick, without skipping steps.
“We have a little money to invest so we will look everywhere, we will be aggressive and try to recruit some veterans to come back stronger collectively, whether with one, two or three new players. We want to approach this summer aggressively so that we can offer an even better product on the court next season. »
“We may take a little longer than people think, but not for us”
In the trough for a while, the Pistons will be able to add (at least) another young talent to their workforce with the Draft. For Triy Weaver, it’s about establishing the Michigan franchise for long-term success, not just for a “one shot” as was the case with the short-lived Blake Griffin experience.
“I want to keep our principles in mind to make sure I build a team that lasts. We don’t just wanna make an appearance [au haut niveau], we want to get there for good. It might take a little longer than people think, but not for us. We want to build the team right and we have an opportunity this summer to be aggressive in some areas where we haven’t been aggressive in the past. »
Example of this long-term construction: the Marvin Bagley III revival project. Arrived during the season from the Kings, the former No. 2 in the Draft was finally able to find significant playing time: in 18 games with the Pistons, he averaged 15 points and 7 rebounds, all at 55% shooting success.
“When you see that, you feel confident about the environment created by the coaches with the young players. That’s why we fight so hard to protect him. If these guys didn’t progress it would be worrying, but they grew as the season went on. That’s why we feel good with the environment and the culture of our team. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Fte | Pts |
| Jerami Grant | 47 | 31.9 | 42.6 | 35.8 | 83.8 | 0.6 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 19.2 |
| Cade Cunningham | 64 | 32.6 | 41.6 | 31.4 | 84.5 | 0.9 | 4.6 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 3.7 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 17.4 |
| Saddiq Bey | 82 | 33.0 | 39.6 | 34.6 | 82.7 | 1.3 | 4.1 | 5.4 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 16.1 |
| Marvin Bagley Iii | 18 | 27.2 | 55.5 | 22.9 | 59.3 | 2.1 | 4.7 | 6.8 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 14.6 |
| Hamidou Diallo | 58 | 21.9 | 49.6 | 24.7 | 65.0 | 1.2 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 2.5 | 11.0 |
| Frank Jackson | 53 | 22.0 | 40.2 | 30.8 | 82.7 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 10.6 |
| Trey Lyles | 51 | 19.4 | 45.6 | 30.1 | 78.4 | 1.2 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 10.4 |
| Kelly Olynyk | 40 | 19.1 | 44.8 | 33.6 | 77.5 | 1.4 | 3.1 | 4.4 | 2.8 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 9.1 |
| Braxton Key | 9 | 21.2 | 45.7 | 30.0 | 53.8 | 1.3 | 4.1 | 5.4 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 2.8 | 8.6 |
| Isaiah Stewart Ii | 71 | 25.6 | 51.0 | 32.6 | 71.8 | 3.2 | 5.5 | 8.7 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 3.0 | 8.3 |
| Cory Joseph | 65 | 24.6 | 44.5 | 41.4 | 88.5 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 8.0 |
| Josh Jackson | 39 | 18.1 | 41.0 | 26.5 | 71.4 | 0.4 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 7.1 |
| Killian Hayes | 66 | 25.0 | 38.3 | 26.3 | 77.0 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 6.9 |
| Isaiah Livers | 19 | 20.2 | 45.6 | 42.2 | 85.7 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 6.4 |
| Derrick Walton, Jr. | 3 | 36.1 | 23.1 | 23.1 | 100.0 | 0.7 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 7.0 | 3.7 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 6.3 |
| Luka Garza | 32 | 12.2 | 44.9 | 32.7 | 62.3 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 5.8 |
| Cassius Stanley | 9 | 17.2 | 41.3 | 23.5 | 100.0 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 5.8 |
| Carsen Edwards | 4 | 19.8 | 30.0 | 25.0 | 100.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 3.5 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 5.8 |
| Saben Lee | 37 | 16.3 | 39.0 | 23.3 | 78.9 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 5.6 |
| Justin Robinson | 5 | 18.2 | 32.1 | 38.1 | 33.3 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 5.6 |
| Rodney Mcgruder | 51 | 14.8 | 43.6 | 39.7 | 73.1 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 5.4 |
| Micah Potter | 3 | 10.3 | 45.5 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 4.0 |
| Jamorko Pickett | 13 | 13.6 | 36.0 | 33.3 | 50.0 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 3.8 |
| Cheick Diallo | 3 | 10.2 | 37.5 | 0.0 | 83.3 | 1.3 | 2.7 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 3.7 |
| David Sirvydis | 3 | 8.9 | 10.0 | 14.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 1.0 |
| Trayvon Palmer | 1 | 16.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
| Jaysean Paige | 1 | 6.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |