25-under-25: Biggest disappointments

3. Stanley Johnson

Okay, I’m not even sure I know who exactly Stanley Johnson is supposed to be at this point or what function he is supposed to serve for the Pistons, but whatever that function is, I’m not convinced he’s capable of it. In three years with the Pistons, Johnson has failed to make more than 38 percent of his shots, or even 31 percent of his 3s, having an abysmal cumulative effective field goal percentage of 41.7 thus far.

On the positive side, Johnson is a fine enough defender, but he’s nowhere near being good enough to justify his lack of other abilities. I was gonna say, Tony Allen he isn’t, but that’s unfair to Allen as even he — a notoriously bad shooter — has still managed to make 47 percent of his shots over his career.

So now, as Johnson enters his fourth season, Detroit wants him to be a 3-and-D wing, but the issue is that he can’t shoot and is only an above average defender which leaves him and the team wondering where exactly he fits. He does nothing particularly well apart from defending, but even that he does not do well enough to make up for everything else. However, Johnson is just 22 and tantalizingly athletic so there is still time for him to improve and turn into both an offensive threat on the perimeter as well as a very good defender. That being said, it seems unwise to bet on that happening.