The Pistons have big plans for second-year guard Luke Kennard and he rates as a breakout candidate for the upcoming season, Ben Nadeau of Basketball Insiders writes. Kennard averaged 11.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 2.5 APG during the last 19 games of his rookie season and his role will expand under new coach Dwane Casey, Nadeau continues. Kennard has the ability to play three positions and he has the potential to become one of the league’s premier 3-point shooters, Nadeau adds.
We have more on the Pistons:
- Power forward Henry Ellenson has been selected for the USA National Team qualifying for the World Championships, Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. Ellenson has played sparingly in his first two NBA seasons after being chosen in the first round of the 2016 draft but his role is expected to expand during the upcoming season under Casey.
- Point guard Ish Smith could be traded during the season, Ansar Khan of MLive.com opines. Smith is entering the final year of his contract and the Pistons also have Jose Calderon and Kennard available for that role, Khan continues. Otherwise, Smith will be the primary backup to Reggie Jackson. He improved his 3-point shooting toward the end of last season and is well-suited for the second unit due his energy, speed and ability to attack the basket, Khan adds.
- The big man combination of Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond should be enough for the Pistons to secure the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype predicts. Sierra sees Detroit finishing third in the Central Division and eighth in the conference despite a lack of talent beyond the frontcourt duo.
Ellenson is very talented and has a very diverse skillset as a big he just never got the time under Stan.
Defense, defense, defense …..
He looked horrible in summer league
Detroit is got an unbelievable frontcourt, but nothing else really behind Blake & Drummond, maybe Kennard will become good, but they have to get rid of Jackson, is gotta be one of the worst starting PG’s in the league. With a good pass first PG & having Blake & Drummond inside they would be a scary prospect, with a pair of shooters to fill the starting line up.
And just think they picked Kennard 12th last year. 13 was Mitchell. Guess they thought Jackson was their man
I think Jackson needs to go I was never a big fan. Bit I do believe with the development of Andre and some solid signings like zaza and Glen Robinson I think Detroit can be a 6-8 seeded playoff team and I can’t wait to watch this season with Casey as head coach