The absence of Blake Griffin has led to offensive struggles for the Pistons’ starting unit during their first two games, Keith Langlois of the team’s website notes.
With Griffin sidelined for at least five games by hamstring and knee injuries, Markieff Morris has taken his spot in the lineup and Detroit got off to slow starts both times. The situation has become even more complicated due to Reggie Jackson‘s lower back tightness, which forced him to depart the 117-100 home loss to Atlanta early on Thursday.
Casey would prefer to limit the minutes of backup point guard Derrick Rose, who has averaged 23 points in his first two games with Detroit. If Jackson needs to miss games, Rose might have to start instead of the other point option, Tim Frazier, because the offense would have even further limitations without Rose’s playmaking.
We have more on the Pistons:
- Center Andre Drummond can opt of his contract after the season and enter unrestricted free agency. His opening-night performance showed that he’s going all out in his walk year, Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. After he racked up 32 points and 23 rebounds in a season-opening victory at Indiana, Drummond responded to a question regarding Twitter #ContractYearDre by saying, “You know it.”
- The fact that Griffin, who has a long injury history, started the season in street clothes could eventually lead the front office to hit the reset button, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press opines. Dealing Griffin is doubtful given those injury woes and that his max deal takes him through the 2021/22 season. But trade speculation has increased recently due to the possibility of the season going sour quickly, Ellis adds.
- First-round pick Sekou Doumbouya isn’t expected to have much of an impact in his rookie season, senior adviser Ed Stefanski told Beard during a Q&A session. The 18-year-old was inactive during the first two games due to a concussion. “When we drafted him, we said early publicly that he’s going to take time to come around and we didn’t put any timetable on it,” Stefanski said. “We made a point that this year, early in the season, we didn’t expect him to be in that rotation. If he keeps playing well when February and March roll around, who knows? We’re not going to throw him to the wolves.”
2 games in…time to reset! Griffin had an injury history when he signed but at least Detroit fans got a brief rush of excitement about their team. Now the reality which his signing delayed can begin…trade, tank,and talk about the future.
Griffin never signed. He was traded to Det.
The team isn’t so bad that it needs blowing up. The key to me is Jackson. You could see how fragile he was early on and he’s inconsistent when he is healthy. That’s the guy they need to move before they can progress. .
Spot on!
Besides Rose, their backcourt is a DISASTER!! Jackson jukes around behind the three point line like he’s Curley Neal, Langston is a brick thrower of threes, Frazier is a retread, and Brown has no offensive skills and looked lost on defense as Trae torched him.
Kennard’s the next best Guard after Rose but that’s only on the Offensive side of the court …
I think of Kennard as more of a wing player and not pure shooting guard, however I’d rather see him start rather than Brown or Jackson.
Here is an upgrade trade deal that could help out, maybe.
Pistons: Waiters, James Johnson
Heat: Jackson, Galloway, Wood
2021 2nd via Lakers
2025 2nd Pistons unprotected
Then work out a Paul / Griffin trade deal.
Ok, out there a bit, yet ???
We dont want your Miami heat garbage.
It all smells like crap to me. Jackson is an expiring deal I believe, as is galloway, and that’s about the knky positives I have. As for waiters and JJ theyre both under contract for another year, however talent wise theyre more productive players on the court. The peripherals need adjusting, Miami should be the one to part with a pick seeing as Waiters is unhappy with his current situation. Pistons dont need to move assets to tie up more future cap space, if anything they could reasonably just give up a 2nd, (seeing as miami doesnt really have a ton of spare draft capital), hold on to wood and the other pick (or give up wood, but I assume they somewhat like him given them picking him over joe Johnson) and even that seems like an overpay
A Paul-Griffin trade actually doesn’t sound that bad. I don’t know exactly how the cap would work and the other pieces that would need to be involved but Paul would help create offense and the two man game with him and Drummond would be pretty good. For the Thunder, bringing Griffin back to Oklahoma could be a feel good story and put some fans in the seats as they work through their rebuild.
Was actually thinking the same thing on a Paul / Griffin trade.
Guess the Pistons can go big time 3 team deal.
Pistons: Paul, Waiters, JJ, Robinson
Thunder: Griffin, Snell
Heat: Jackson, Galloway, Wood
2021 1st ( Heat pick back )
Pistons can work back out of the Tax in February. Also keeps picks it would take to move thier bad players anyway.
Paul, Drummond, Waiters, Morris / J. Johnson is a solid core.
SGA, Griffin, Adams, Gallinari is also a nice core.
Heat basically get fill in 3rd string players. Plus cap space this summer and a 1st.
Does anyone honestly think that Jackson and Galloway are better than Waiters and JJ, LOL.
Don’t like this Blake Griffin for CP3 talk.
A CP3 and Drummond duo will look a lot like CP3 and DeAndre Jordan which struggled for any success. Not to mention Paul is on about 40 mil a year and Drummonds new deal will be about 30 mil a year. That’s not good either. I’d swap Drummond and Galloway for Hayward and Rob Williams, or Drummond for DeRozan.
Secondly after a Drummond trade, I’d swap Tony Snell and a protected first for Bobby Portis. That solves replacing Drummond. You’d then have a line up of Reggie Jackson, Luke Kennard and DeRozan or Hayward at SF, Griffin and Portis.
Griffin is the star of this team but has a new sidekick at SF who will help his team win by giving them about 20 points, plus some rebounds and assists. All of a sudden you have a starting 5 where all the players can shoot the 3, which creates more room for drives.
Lastly a duo of Griffin and Hayward (two not ideal contracts) would still be almost 10 mil cheaper per season than a duo of Paul and Drummond (when Drummond gets his new deal).
Drummond will be cheap at $30MM/year the way he’s playing so far this season
It’s been 2 games and the only reason he’s been going hard is cause it’s a contract year. 30 mil for any player isn’t cheap really unless your talking LeBron Durant AD Curry or Harden.
Since he entered the league he’s hardly improved, yes he’s good for about 15 and 15 but that doesn’t result in wins or success for the Pistons (they’ve made the playoffs twice in his career and got swept in the first round both times). He’s gotten slightly better averages each year as his usage rate also gets higher.
The 2 things he has improved is, he went from not even managing 1 assist per game to getting 3 per game last year, and he’s gone from 37% at the line to 60%. In reality that means in his 7 years in the league he has learned to pass the ball decently and is slightly better at shooting an uncontested shot from 15 feet.
Cleary mans is not worth 30 mil.
It may also be worth noting at 30 mil he be the 21st highest paid player in the game ahead of Dame Lillard, Embid, Booker and KAT, Beal and AD. You can’t say Drummond is even remotely close to these guys.
Andre is unique and that alone is worth something as long as the money is justified. Andre is a star just not a superstar did you notice how anemic we were when he sat the other night? There were options in the draft of guys who would have helped immediately, dont quite understand a 3 year project when there’s immediate help available. They passed on Carson Edwards, Kendrick Nunn could prabaly get Knox from NYC explosive players. have to get players for the now, a 18 yr old who will ask for a max at 22-23 is nothing i would want to be involved in.
Yeah I think they needed someone to play the 3, I think they should’ve tried to trade it for someone like Knox or Ingram or something. Douymbouya looks like a nice project just probably not what they needed. Even Nassir Little would’ve probably been a better pick