Post-NBA Free Agency power rankings
By John Buhler
Detroit Pistons
East, Central
We’re in the stage of these power rankings where it’s getting more difficult to tell if a team will be bad or just mediocre. One of the teams that is the hardest to get a firm grasp of is the Detroit Pistons. What are they and what direction are they going?
Henry Ellenson and Luke Kennard look terrific in NBA Summer League, but what is going on with restricted free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope? Detroit drafted him No. 8 overall in 2013, but look to be parting ways with him, as the Pistons have renounced his rights to now make him a restricted free agent. Trading for shooting guard Avery Bradley for Marcus Morris only further puts the nail in the coffin of Caldwell-Pope’s Pistons career.
The Pistons do have an All-Star-level center in Andre Drummond. He might be a rebounding beast, but him hitting free throws just isn’t happening. It seems like head coach Stan Van Gundy is trying to recreate one of his Orlando Magic teams centered around Dwight Howard. Are we sure this is even working?
Adding Bradley definitely helps the Pistons in the short-term, but he will be a free agent next summer. Punting on Caldwell-Pope puts an insane amount of pressure on Ellenson and Kennard to arrive as reliable NBA starters sooner rather than later. Detroit has slightly more upside than the Magic entering the fall, but their floor as a basketball team is excruciatingly low.