Under the direction of their new president, Trajan Langdon, the Detroit Pistons were undoubtedly intent on improving their squad this offseason at a number of areas. They decided they’d had enough of 60-loss seasons and signed skilled veterans at multiple positions, even though they weren’t aiming for a playoff spot this year.
The squad did not address the position of point guard, though. With plenty of players looking for work and the only organization with leftover cap space, the team is in a unique position. Additionally, they have a number of young players who are still in need of playing time for development and who may be able to pull off a successful in-season move should the opportunity arise.
The most worrying aspect of the roster makeover, though, is that they have such a gap at backup point guard for a club that has talked a lot about adding shooting, competitiveness, and dependable veterans.
Supports All places aside from PG
They selected Ron Holland and, to a lesser extent, Bob Klintman in the draft, adding an intriguing potential two-way wing. With Tobias Harris, they filled a huge void at starting power forward. Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr., two highly productive shooters, gave them a boost at guard and forward. They even brought in Paul Reed, one of the finest reserve centers in the NBA.
But the team did not recruit a guy who had played a lot of point guard this offseason after bidding farewell to incumbents Killian Hayes, Monte Morris, and Malachi Flynn.
Rather of putting three players in reserve lineups to handle the ball and create plays, they appear satisfied to roll the dice. None of them appear to be point guards. After Cade Cunningham was sidelined by injury for the majority of his rookie campaign, Jaden Ivey was forced to fill in at point guard, but his judgment and vision could use some improvement.
Although Marcus Sasser can score points off the bench with explosiveness, it was evident in his rookie season that he was only able to see the initial read. The best Sasser is a player who is not in charge of your offense; he is a shooting guard in a point guard’s body. And lastly, Ausar Thompson. Thompson has versatility in his play. Although his handling was unsteady and he wasn’t required to perform much arranging with the ball in his hands, it makes sense that the light-shooting Thompson could be fully used in a point-forward position.
It may be unwise to worry too much about a backup point guard, as the team will probably rely a lot on Cunningham, who plays more than 34 minutes a night in the starting lineup. But as we sit here on September 1, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find backup point guard to be really frightening.
$10,000,000 But No One to Use It For
The Pistons are undoubtedly financially able to address the issue. This summer, Detroit will have $10.2 million to work with and an available roster space. While point guards are available, they don’t always appear to fit the same mold as Langdon did earlier in the offseason.
It appeared that two straightforward questions were the main requirements for Langdon. Can you consistently make threes at a fast pace? Are you able to consistently play over 70 games in a season?
Tim Hardaway Jr., Malik Beasley, and Tobias Harris all unquestionably pass that test. the open-market point guards? Not in that way.
Markelle Fultz is the best of the unrestricted free agency crop. After experiencing both physical and emotional difficulties early in his career, Fultz overcame them to succeed as a bench player for the Orlando Magic.
But after shooting at least 68% within three feet for three straight seasons, he dropped to 62% last season, played in just 43 games, and still has no discernible outside shot. To me, that doesn’t sound like a Langdon player. As Jalen Suggs developed, so did his ball handling duties. After three seasons in a row with assists above 5.0, his numbers dropped to 2.8 last season. However, he is unquestionably a superior floor general and defender than Ivey and Sasser as they are right now.
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Once you pass Fultz, the names become really depressing. Recently released Piston Dennis Smith Jr. has attracted attention after putting his personal health problems behind him. Smith Jr., who is still only 26 years old, was a productive player for the Nets last season. However, he doesn’t offer any floor spacing either. For similar reasons, seasoned pros Patty Mills and Ish Smith aren’t really viable choices.
Allowing Younger Players to Grow
With Tyus Jones lingering on the free agent market for the majority of the summer, it seemed as though Detroit’s lack of urgency in addressing its point guard position was written in the stars.
With the Washington Wizards, Jones enjoyed his finest shooting season to date with an incredible assist-to-turnover ratio of 7:1. It appeared like an ideal opportunity for a bad team like the Pistons to rush in and give a one-year deal with the promise to move him to a contender before the deadline, but Jones was unable to find takers at his asking price. Jones instead agreed to a $3.3 million contract with the Phoenix Suns.
This might indicate two things: either the Pistons had no other outlets where they could regularly see the court and didn’t want to deal one of them for pennies on the dollar, or it shows how much they believe in the potential development of Ivey or Sasser off the bench.
Additionally, there is the $10 million strategic wager that if a team needs Detroit as a third team and is looking to make an in-season trade, having this little bit of cap space and roster space could be helpful. Although the chances are slim, the reward might be greater than any player they could sign as a free agency.
Either way, it seems like we will have a lot of off-guards directing the offense off the bench this season. Hey, perhaps they could bring back Killian Hayes if he doesn’t make the final roster in Brooklyn?
