3 Pistons who should be benched or fired after disastrous start to the season

1. Troy Weaver sunk the Pistons with poor personnel choices

The Pistons named Troy Weaver general manager in 2020. Since then, Detroit has consistently ranked among the worst teams in the NBA. The progress isn't even marginal — it's non-existant. Detroit is worse now than when Weaver started, in large part due to obvious missteps in the personnel department.

Weaver nailed a few picks in a vacuum — Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson were spot-on, and Marcus Sasser looks stupendous — but the Pistons' draft history has become alarmingly hit-or-miss. Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, and Killian Hayes were all more or less consensus picks, but that doesn't absolve Weaver of blame. If following the consensus consistently blows up in your face, it's time to pick a better, bolder strategy.

Detroit's roster construction is a complete mess. The Pistons rank 28th in 3-point attempts per game and 23rd in 3-point percentage. Cunningham has been a whiff of a No. 1 pick to date, but he's also constantly suffocated while operating as the primary focus of every opposing scouting report. Maybe we start to see marginal progress with Bogey back in the lineup, but given the Pistons' non-competitive status... why is Bogey still around? Weaver reportedly could have swapped Bogdanovic for two first-round picks last season. Now, the 34-year-old is in possibly the final year of his contract and the Pistons won't even engage with interested suitors. That's just shoddy asset management.

The desire to improve the product on the floor is understandable, and the Pistons do need to place their young pieces in a more favorable environment for development. But rather than clinging tightly to a 34-year-old in the NBA's basement, the Pistons need to place a premium on young, affordable shooters in future drafts or via trade. Swap Bogey for another shooter at half the price, potentially one several years his junior.

Weaver's commitment to size has long been laughable. The Pistons drafted Duren and Stewart, on top of pursuing the likes of Christian Wood, Marvin Bagley, and James Wiseman. The Pistons are constructed to succeed in 2001, not 2023.

Even Detroit's best moves can be reflected through negative prism. Ausar Thompson is a star on the rise — maybe the Pistons' best prospect — but the overlap with supposed franchise cornerstone Cade Cunningham is noticeable, and Thompson can't shoot a lick. Not to mention Jaden Ivey, another iffy shooting guard from last year's lottery. If the Pistons are going to select a bunch of downhill guards with spotty 3-point shots, then why the insistence on non-shooting bigs? It defies comprehension.

There's a way out of this mess, but there's no reason to believe Weaver is the man to guide the Pistons to greener pastures. He shouldn't be around much longer at Detroit's current trajectory.