Post Mortem #20 - Detroit Pistons

[cgf]

Harris, Holland, and a pick or two for Markkanen? That feels very light.

I’m not as high on Lauri as a lot of people and like Holland quite a bit. So if it takes more than a couple FRPs to make that swap, I’d pass.

I'd rather have picks than Holland, and I think Detroit would rather have Holland than picks. Harris + 3 picks is probably enough for me to say yes, especially if they are 26/28/30 since we have multiple in 25/27/29/31.

That would be a really interesting option for them then.

Ivey / Schröder
Cade / Hardaway
Ausar / Holland
Markannen
Duren / Stewart

[MrBigShot]

1. Cade is a top 10 guy with potential to rise into the top 5. Congrats DET - you go the hardest part figured out. I think the series would have went longer if he had turned it on like those guys do and said I'm not losing these games. I saw that switch happen for Jokic after the LAL bubble loss. Maybe it will happen for him. Good luck to the NBA if he does, b/c he's got all the tools to be unstoppable.

2. What a great redemption arc for Harris. Not just in output, but him being the elder statemen to the young guys. Happy for him.

3. I think Jalen Green should absolutely be a target if he's available. I think it would be a tremendous fit b/w Cade & Thompson.

Appreciate the words of encouragement. But a low bball iq chucker like green is the last guy we should add lol

[mcfly1204]

And in all seriousness this is an absurd statement to make after a team with just 14 wins previously and a ton of young guys just made the playoffs and pushed the Knicks to 6 games (with some controversial losses to boot).

I mean... are you saying a non-treadmill coach would have won more regular season games with this squad and/or should have taken them to the 2nd round or beyond?

You may be absolutely right in the end but nothing in this current context of events should make you draw that conclusion. Can we at least wait to see the Pistons have a moment of plateauing before we start making judgements like these?

It's not absurd at all, and no I am not saying that a non-treadmill coach would have necessarily had the same success as JBB in Detroit this season. My point is that there are different classes of coaches that have varying level of effectiveness depending on team needs. JBB has shown himself to be on par with the Mike Browns of the NBA. They can get young guys to play hard and defend, raising the team's floor. Can they take teams to the next level of being legitimate contenders? I'm not going to rule that out for JBB, but I would not exactly be looking to put money on that either.

So you didn't read what I wrote at all then? He might be a treadmill coach. But the success he has had as of late in the context of the Detroit Pistons does not specifically support that. And that is what this thread is about: A post-mortem for the Pistons 2024 season and what to do next year.

JBB has been exactly what this team needed this season to help these young players develop and make some fundamental strides. They were wildly successful beyond all expectations this year.

Nothing that occurred during the 2024 season gives any credence to the idea that we shouldn't continue to employ JBB as a coach next year (which was one of the poll questions). There's still a ton of growing to do by a young team. We shouldn't be concerned about contending for anything yet.

You coming in here just to say that he is historically a treadmill coach is almost completely irrelevant to this thread. Who cares in this context?

Like I said in my previous post. Come back next year if/when the team plateaus under him and then there's basis to have that discussion. Otherwise just GTFO.

GTFO... cute, kiddo. JBB has been successful in this role before, raising the floor of a young team. JBB has yet to be successful beyond that. Could he be? Maybe, but he did less with a more talented roster in Cleveland. But hey, you're within your rights to hope he shows something more this time around.

[dakomish23]

1. Cade is a top 10 guy with potential to rise into the top 5. Congrats DET - you go the hardest part figured out. I think the series would have went longer if he had turned it on like those guys do and said I'm not losing these games. I saw that switch happen for Jokic after the LAL bubble loss. Maybe it will happen for him. Good luck to the NBA if he does, b/c he's got all the tools to be unstoppable.

2. What a great redemption arc for Harris. Not just in output, but him being the elder statemen to the young guys. Happy for him.

3. I think Jalen Green should absolutely be a target if he's available. I think it would be a tremendous fit b/w Cade & Thompson.

Appreciate the words of encouragement. But a low bball iq chucker like green is the last guy we should add lol

That’s where I think having a floor general like Cade & good set plays to get opens shots (at least from what I saw in the Knicks series) would really benefit him.