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I just wanted to make this thread before any personnel changes happened. which player on the pistons do you think will make the biggest improvements in their game (or make a bigger impact) next season?

- will henry ellenson get more athletic and work on his shot, overtaking leuer at backup PF?
- will SJ start to put it together offensively?
- will drummond make the leap we hoped?
- does KCP become a more consistent shooter?

*for this i don't really want to count reggie's health, so compare his improvements to how he played in 2016*

a big part of SVG's plan in locking down a young core was to get internal improvement. i don't think there's any question that nobody made a huge leap last year and it looked like a bunch of guys actually regressed. the offseason is a time where everyone gets so caught up on transactions to improve the roster (myself included) that sometimes they forget that these players are working out 5-6 times a week to improve their games. my question is, which piston do you think will make the biggest improvements this offseason?

hope: SJ
reality: Tobias, his work ethic is as impressive as anyone on this team and I think this year will be start start of his prime

KCP

TurboTitan wrote:hope: SJ
reality: Tobias, his work ethic is as impressive as anyone on this team and I think this year will be start start of his prime

Ha! That's so funny, that's exactly what I was going to say. I'm desperately hoping SJ, but I have more faith in Tobias given how much he's already accomplished and his impressive work ethic, so I was going to go with him.

I thin Ellenson will have improved production next year (I know, really going out on a limb here) but I don't think he has a whole lot of potential to improve his athleticism significantly, and he has a nice shot already, I think his improvement needs to come from getting game experience and getting his shot off against NBA caliber defenders.

Leuer.

I hope Tobias keeps improving. I know he works hard as hell each off season since his 2nd year. Dude wants to be great and is trying to develop the hard way. But, I think SJ takes a solid step in the right direction. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Reggie improves after a down year. He has been most vocal about how disappointed he was this past season. I hope he works hard to rectify that.

If you go by what they're up to on instagram lol, then definitely Tobias. He's always posting healthy eating and him training. Reggie is always posting terrible eating. Drummond actually seems like he's training and he just posted a pic of him with a 6pack so that's encouraging. SJ too seems to be training hard

Ellenson because he had the steepest learning curve given his rookie season and is only digesting it all now and knowing what he needs to work on.

Montanabadboy wrote:

TurboTitan wrote:hope: SJ
reality: Tobias, his work ethic is as impressive as anyone on this team and I think this year will be start start of his prime

Ha! That's so funny, that's exactly what I was going to say. I'm desperately hoping SJ, but I have more faith in Tobias given how much he's already accomplished and his impressive work ethic, so I was going to go with him.

I thin Ellenson will have improved production next year (I know, really going out on a limb here) but I don't think he has a whole lot of potential to improve his athleticism significantly, and he has a nice shot already, I think his improvement needs to come from getting game experience and getting his shot off against NBA caliber defenders.

Ditto

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I hope SJ. Because if he doesn't and Winslow does make a leap, I will be foaming.

I also like the work ethic and overall lifestyle of Harris. People should do whatever they want during the off time, but while a lot of players seem to be only interested in fast cars, beautiful women and the likes (which is fine, don't get me wrong), Tobias seems to also enjoy simple things like hiking and exploring the world. Dunno, I get the vibe he's a good guy overall.

King Henry will put up prime Dirk numbers next season, you heard it here first.

Compared to 2015-16? The obvious answer is Dre and Reggie since they have shown they can perform better.

Well, baring a shakeup, ellenson is still buried on the bench. If he actually gets on the court, I think he would put up decent offensive stats, but the obvious problem is on defense.

SJ "should" make the biggest leap. He had a dismal season and ended up scoring 4 ppg. He could easily triple his output across the board if he starts playing to his potential.

KCP - I think he'll continue his improvement, but I can't see him taking a big leap offensively. eg 14ppg up to 20ppg or something.

Dre - I don't think he's going to suddenly become a better offensive player, so that end is mostly about his teammates getting him easy looks. Defensively, he certainly has the physical ability to make a big jump, but I don't think he's going to do it on his own. He would benefit from the team adding a couple vocal vets though.

RJ - compared to last year, I assume he'll be much better. Compared to 2015? I doubt he's ever going to put up significantly better numbers than 19/6.

I just hope to see the Pope-Harris team. The team sharing the ball and bringing it every night.

So, why don't just we get rid of Reggie&Dre?

Johnson needs to crack the lineup and Ellenson the rotation.

it'd be pretty cool if something random happened like ish smith being a decent 3 point shooter or something

Sheedpocalypse wrote:I hope SJ. Because if he doesn't and Winslow does make a leap, I will be foaming.

I also like the work ethic and overall lifestyle of Harris. People should do whatever they want during the off time, but while a lot of players seem to be only interested in fast cars, beautiful women and the likes (which is fine, don't get me wrong), Tobias seems to also enjoy simple things like hiking and exploring the world. Dunno, I get the vibe he's a good guy overall.

I've read a fair amount about Tobias. He's definitely a GREAT guy. Tons of investment in the local community, well-spoken, mature... he's a great person. I just wish he had a little more lateral quickness on defense.

Our players don't improve, they revel in mediocrity.

Sheedpocalypse wrote:I hope SJ. Because if he doesn't and Winslow does make a leap, I will be foaming.

I also like the work ethic and overall lifestyle of Harris. People should do whatever they want during the off time, but while a lot of players seem to be only interested in fast cars, beautiful women and the likes (which is fine, don't get me wrong), Tobias seems to also enjoy simple things like hiking and exploring the world. Dunno, I get the vibe he's a good guy overall.

Why foam at the mouth? Winslow made it clear he didn't want to be here. He could be the next Paul George and I'd pass on an unproven player who is picky about where he goes.

My question: Will any Piston significantly improve this summer? I don't know what it is, but this team is just trash at developing young talent. This isn't a SVG era problem, it's existed long before that.

I'd wager Jackson stands to improve the most of his gimp knee improves at all.

ImHeisenberg wrote:My question: Will any Piston significantly improve this summer? I don't know what it is, but this team is just trash at developing young talent. This isn't a SVG era problem, it's existed long before that.

I'd wager Jackson stands to improve the most of his gimp knee improves at all.

Yeah, I want to assume players like Tobias or SJ, KCP could be even better on the Spurs or something.

This franchise just has terrible player development. There's no reason why Dre should still look lost on defense and other parts of the game as he was in his freshman year.