2018-19 NBA Season Preview: Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons didn’t expect to be in this position last summer. After Chicago, Indiana and Atlanta parted ways with their best players, it seemed like Detroit could grab one of three vacated spots in next year's playoffs. But in reality, Indiana stayed in the postseason, and the other two spots were claimed by Miami and Philadelphia, while the Pistons missed the playoffs for the eighth time in nine years.
The desperate trade-deadline move for Blake Griffin didn’t help them revive their season, neither did it help save Stan Van Gundy's job. The former NBA finalist coach finished his four-year stint as Detroit's coach and president of basketball operations. While the latter is still vacant, his place on the bench was quickly taken by the 2018 NBA Coach of the Year, Dwane Casey.
Detroit will enjoy a full season of the Griffin-Drummond duo and a good chance to claim the spot potentially vacated by Cleveland in the playoffs. However, they have Reggie Jackson's questionable health to depend on and an otherwise unimpressive roster. Coach Casey turned Toronto's bench to the best in the league; barring a similar transformation, the Pistons will have trouble achieving their goals for the season.
Here is an overview of the team for the 2018-19 season:
Offseason Activity
Detroit's biggest change this summer was a managerial one. After four years and just one playoff series to his name, Stan Van Gundy and the Pistons parted ways. Van Gundy didn’t manage to duplicate his success from Orlando, where he made the playoffs in each of his five seasons as coach, including an NBA Finals appearance.
His replacement, Dwane Casey, had his share of disappointment last season. After finishing the regular season with the best record in the Eastern Conference, Casey's Raptors were swept by the Cavs in the second round of the playoffs, despite their home court advantage. Nevertheless, Casey is the reigning Coach of the Year and is a great pick up for Detroit.
On the players' front, the Pistons had a quiet summer, adding wing Glenn Robinson III on a 1-year/$4.08M contract, veterans Zaza Pachulia and Jose Calderon on 1-year/minimum deals and 2018 draftees, Bruce Brown Jr. and Khyri Thomas. No substantial departures for Detroit either. Main players leaving are Anthony Tolliver (Minnesota) and James Ennis (Houston).