We are through the first rush of NBA free agency and trades and most agree that the Detroit Pistons are a better team.
Of course, that’s not saying much considering they won just 14 games last season, as even doubling their win total would still likely leave Detroit near the bottom of the Eastern Conference again.
I did rank the Pistons as one of my winners of free agency, mostly because Trajan Langdon was able to improve the team without doing anything risky or dramatic and without sacrificing any long-term assets.
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But did the Pistons do enough to actually compete next season or did they just put lipstick on a tank-shaped pig? That’s the big question for next season.
In their first power rankings after free agency, Bleacher Report has the Pistons as the 26th team in the NBA. Hang the “Not the worst!” banner!
Considering Detroit has been at the bottom of this list for years, it was nice to at least move in the right direction, even if it was only a few spots.
B/R has Portland, Brooklyn, Charlotte and Washington as worse teams than Detroit and I would agree. Portland is all over the place, Brooklyn got worse on purpose, Charlotte didn’t add anyone of note and the Wizards signed Saddiq Bey as one of their big offseason moves, a guy who isn’t even going to play next season.
There is no question the Pistons can compete with and even beat all of these teams, but these are the dregs. What about the teams just ahead of them in the power rankings?
The four teams just ahead of the Pistons are the Bulls, Jazz, Raptors and Hawks, none of whom are good. How Detroit fares against these teams will likely decide if they are tanking again next season, or if they make a leap.
The Pistons aren’t going to be a playoff team next season but the teams listed above will likely be on the fringes of the play-in tournament, which is where Detroit wants to be.
Detroit wants to win games, to improve and to give their young players meaningful development and experience, which is not easy to balance.
That is the challenge of next season, to create a winning environment while trying to develop players and keep a protected draft pick in a deep and talented draft. These power rankings show Detroit is right on the cusp of the bad and really bad.