The Detroit Pistons, under the leadership of new president Trajan Langdon, were obviously focused on upgrading the roster at several positions this offseason. Despite not eyeing a playoff spot this season, they decided they’d have enough of 60-loss seasons and added talented veterans at several positions.
One position the team did not address, however, was point guard. The team is the only franchise remaining with cap space left to spend and plenty of players looking for jobs. They also have several young guys still looking for developmental playing time and with an eye toward perhaps being able to swing an advantageous in-season trade should one present itself.
But for a team that spoke so much about adding competition to the roster, adding shooting, and adding reliable vets, the fact that they have such a hole at backup point guard is the most concerning thing about the roster overhaul.
Reinforcements Everywhere but PG
They added an intriguing potential two-way wing in the draft in Ron Holland and even, to a lesser extent, Bob Klintman. They addressed a gaping hole at starting power forward with Tobias Harris. They upgraded guard and forward with a pair of high-volume shooting veterans, Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. They even added one of the better reserve centers in the NBA in Paul Reed.
But after saying goodbye to incumbent point guards Killian Hayes, Monte Morris, and Malachi Flynn, the team did not add a player who had spent significant time at the position this offseason.
They, instead, seem content to role the dice turning over ball handling and playmaking duties to three players in bench lineups. It is clear none is a point guard. Jaden Ivey was pressed into point guard duties for much of his rookie season after Cade Cunningham was lost to injury, but his decision-making and vision leave a bit to be desired. Marcus Sasser is an explosive scorer off the bench, but in his rookie season he was clearly limited into seeing anything beyond the first read. He’s a shooting guard in a point guard’s body, and the best version of Sasser is a player who is not running your offense. Lastly, you have Ausar Thompson. Thompson can play up-and-down the lineup. His handle was shaky and he wasn’t asked to do much orchestrating with the ball in his hands, but you can understand why the light-shooting Thompson might be maximized if he can fit into a point-forward role.
Perhaps being overly concerned about backup point guard is foolish considering how the team is likely to lean heavily on Cunningham in the starting lineup as a 34+ minute-per-game guy. But I’d be lying if I said backup point guard didn’t scare the hell out of me as we sit here on Sept. 1.
$10 Million But Nobody to Spend it On
The Pistons certainly have the financial capability to do something about it. Detroit has $10.2 million and an open roster spot to work with this offseason. There are point guards on the market, too, but they don’t necessarily seem to tick the same boxes Langdon was using earlier this offseason.
The prime criteria for Langdon seemed to be a couple of simple questions. Can you reliably make threes at high volume? Can you reliably play more than 70 games in a season?
Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley, and Tim Hardaway Jr. all certainly pass that test. the point guards on the open market? Not so much.
The highlight of the unrestricted free agency crop is Markelle Fultz. Fultz has persevered after beginning his career with physical and mental struggles, eventually excelling as a bench player with the Orlando Magic.
However, after three consecutive seasons shooting at least 68% within three feet, he fell back to 62% last season, was limited to just 43 games played, and he still has no outside shot to speak of. That doesn’t scream a Langdon player to me. His ball handling responsibilities also receded last season as Jalen Suggs blossomed, with his assists numbers falling to 2.8 after three consecutive season above 5.0. We can comfortably say, though, that he’s a better defender and floor general than the current versions of Ivey and Sasser.
If you look beyond Fultz, the names get pretty bleak. Dennis Smith Jr., a short-time Piston, has intrigued as he has put his own health issues behind him. Still just 26, Smith Jr. played quality basketball on the Nets last season. But he also doesn’t provide spacing on the floor. Longtime veterans Patty Mills and Ish Smith aren’t really options for the same reasons.
Letting Young Players Develop
The writing appeared to be on the wall regarding Detroit’s lack of urgency in addressing its point guard position when Tyus Jones sat languishing on the free agent market for most of the summer.
Jones had the best shooting season of his career with the Washington Wizards and an absurd 7:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Jones couldn’t find any takers at his asking price and it seemed like a perfect opportunity for a bad team like the Pistons to swoop in and offer a one-year deal and the promise to trade him to a contender before the deadline. Instead, Jones signed a $3.3 million with the Phoenix Suns.
That could either tell you just how much the Pistons believe in the potential development of Ivey or Sasser off the bench, or it means the franchise had no other outlets for them to consistently see the floor and didn’t want to trade one of them for pennies on the dollar.
There is also the $10 million strategic bet that this bit of room in the salary cap and on the roster could be advantageous if a team is looking to make an in-season trade and needs Detroit as a third team. The odds are low, but the payoff could be more significant than any player they could add as a free agent.
Regardless, it appears we are in for a season full of off-guards running the offense off the bench. Hey, maybe if Killian Hayes dosn’t make the final roster in Brooklyn, they could bring him back?