I'm looking for a little info on your team

[jazzfan1971]

I'm starting up my offseason preview and wanted to get some info and feedback from you guys before I got going.

So, I come to you folks.

How do you see your depth chart breaking down?
What are the major story lines to your team this year?
How do you think you will finish record wise in the league? (what place? 1-30)
Tell me a little about your coaching situation.

Thanks in advance.

[Moose10Fan]

It's tough, all depends how the Monroe situation plays out, to early to tell for all of those questions.

[bstein14]

Monroe is one of our 2 or 3 best players so it really does all depend on whether or not he is back... if he isn't, we'll either have much different pieces from a sign and trade or have a bunch more capspace (like $10 million) to work with.

[theBigLip]

Depth chart:
Jennings, Augustin, Dinwiddie
KCP, Meeks
Singler, Butler (weakest position)
Monroe (assuming he signs), Smith, Jerebko
Drummond, Gray

Storyline:
1. Stan Van Gundy - being GM and coach means he doesn't have to take any crap from the players.
2. Due to #1, we can now have players who will now only take high % shots (eg Smith) or they don't play
3. Also due to #1, we can now get all players to play team defense, or they don't play.
4. The free agents that came aboard are not sexy, but good shooters. That was needed badly.

I think we finish 7 or 8 in the East, which probably means 18-20 in the league.

After going through a new coach seemingly every year for the last ten years, we now have a proven coach on a 5 year deal. I don't think our coaching situation can be any better.

[Phenomenonsense]

Without knowing what happens with Monroe, it's really hard to say how everything will turn out, but I'll try.

I think DJ might take Jenning's starting spot, especially with a no nonsense coach who also happens to be the Pres. I also think that SVG is extremely comfortable with having Jerebko playing a big back up role if Moose is gone. Other than that:

Jennings/DJ/Bynum/Dinwiddie
KCP/Meeks
Butler/Singler/Martin
Monroe/Smith/Jerebko
Drummond/Monroe/Gray

I think the major story line is SVG's training camp. It seems like every starting spot outside of Drummond is up for grabs. Moose/Smith? Either could start. KCP/Meeks? After a big 26 ppg outing in SL, is KCP ready to start over Meeks? Is DJ better than Jennings? What will Dinwiddie give us when he returns in January. Is Butler still better than Singler? Is martin going to fight for back up minutes.

If Monroe stays, the biggest question would be "Who fits best around Drummond?" That will likely be our question for every position this year and the next few years. I think that, in the East we will be close to the 9th seed, with upside of the 8th seed if SVG's coaching is as good as I think it is. Overall we're probably closer to 20 than 18th.

SVG is our new coach, a top 6 coach in the league based off of win%. He is a coach that gets pigeonholed as a "stretch four" guy, but has only worked with the roster he had at the time (for example, not using a stretch for in Miami). The truth is this roster is his to make, and we have no idea what he is going to make of it. He values outside shooting at some positions, at least.

[Kilo]

Assuming Monroe comes back...

Jennings(30)|Agustin(18)|Bynum(DNP-CD)|Dinwiddie(D-League)
Meeks(28)|KCP(20)
Singler(26)|Butler(16)|Martin(6)|Datome
Monroe(18)|Smith(30)|Jerebko
Drummond(32)|(Monroe)(12)|Gray(4)

Major storylines will be minutes between Smith and Monroe, who starts, who comes off the bench and how they accept it. Jennings vs Augustin for PG minutes. How team adapts to Stan and his style.

We'll finish in the bottom third of the league. Looking at the East I could see anywhere from #8th seed to #11 at the lowest. An injury to Drummond though and we're probably looking at legit bottom five.

Coaching - First time we have stability there in 5-6 years it seems. Stan has all the power as coach and President of Basketball Operations - players know who's the boss and who will win any power struggle.

[tmorgan]

What are the major story lines to your team this year?
Thanks in advance.

The major storyline to me is that this is a team without an identity. SVG needs to get some systems in place, get most of the players to buy in, get the ones that don't out the door, and start making an actual team. Other than the centerpiece being Drummond, we don't know much about that plan yet, and since it's yet to be seen how Andre actually develops (is he just Deandre Jordan plus, is he Dwight, or is he closer to Shaq?), it's hard to say what path we'll end up on.

I'd prefer a defense-first team that runs the floor effectively, but it's not my decision to make.

[JustinSane]

I think there are two main story lines.

1. How does the Smith/Drummond/Monroe logjam resolve? They can't play together. It doesn't work. Either Monroe or Smith need to be moved, or one of them needs to come off the bench. Will either be willing to accept that? Will it poison the locker room? Will someone making 10+ million end up as the 15th man for insubordination? Or will someone buy in and turn into a 6th man of the year candidate? For this season to go well, one of the Pistons' three best players will need to fully buy in to coming of the bench.

2. Can any of the Pistons younger perimeter players break out? I include Jennings, Meeks, KCP, and Augustin here. If one of these guys can become a better than average starter, the team could end up pretty good. I'm high on KCP personally - think he could be the shooting guard version of Leonard for the Spurs.

[ImHeisenberg]

The storyline of the Pistons is currently how the Greg Monroe situation plays out. That will set-up the narrative for the regular season.

If Monroe comes back, I expect this team to improve, just not improve enough to make the post-season. Probably finish 9th or 10th in the eastern conference.

As for depth, this team runs about 9 deep in players who can give you something on the court. But, only a couple of them would be referred to as "good players", as most have glaring flaws in their game- shooting and defense being the most common culprits.

[Cowology]

No clue, no clue and no clue. Need to see how the whole Smith/Monroe issue is resolved.

[Finn McCool]

Depth chart:
Jennings, Augustin, Dinwiddie
KCP, Meeks
Singler, Butler (weakest position)
Monroe (assuming he signs), Smith, Jerebko
Drummond, Gray

Storyline:
1. Stan Van Gundy - being GM and coach means he doesn't have to take any crap from the players.
2. Due to #1, we can now have players who will now only take high % shots (eg Smith) or they don't play
3. Also due to #1, we can now get all players to play team defense, or they don't play.
4. The free agents that came aboard are not sexy, but good shooters. That was needed badly.

I think we finish 7 or 8 in the East, which probably means 18-20 in the league.

After going through a new coach seemingly every year for the last ten years, we now have a proven coach on a 5 year deal. I don't think our coaching situation can be any better.

Does #1 also mean that SVG will no longer tolerate a player jogging back on defense like a 70 year old woman at a 5K?

[Snakebites]

To even answer this question requires assumptions to be made that might not ultimately be true.

I'll assume the following:

1) Smith is not traded.
2) Monroe is resigned to a longterm deal later in the offseason.

Again, these things may not actually be what happens, but your questions can't be answered without assumptions one way or another.

Depth Chart:

Jennings/Augustin
Meeks/KCP
Singler/Butler
Monroe/Smith/Jerebko
Drummond/Monroe

Unlikely to get a lot of minutes: Gray, Dinwiddie, Bynum, Datome, Mitchell and anyone else I might have left out. Jerebko may not see a lot of time either depending on how our big rotation ends up looking.

Major storylines: How much of a difference will the added shooting make? What will SVG be able to do with a roster that remains inherently flawed from years of mismanagement? Will our big rotation be a more effective version of what we had last year or will the same issues that torpedoed last season remain severe enough to sink us again?

Record wise: Eh, we're a fringe playoff team most likely. 8th seed or 9th seed in the east, so probably late teens/early 20s in terms of overall standing. We're marginally improved just from coaching alone, and the other roster changes might get us a little higher than that depending on what the new guys can bring.

Coaching situation is actually solid for the first time in a very long time. Stan Van Gundy has been given a long enough contract and enough power that I expect he'll be given every chance to turn this ship around. Previous hires were highly dubious and more or less set up for failure. This ones' different.

[Pharaoh]

Depth chart:

PG: Jennings, DJ, Bynum
SG: KCP, Meeks, Martin
SF: Singler, Butler, Datome
PF: Monroe, Smith, Jerebko
*C: Drummond, Gray

Dinwiddie red shirts the season

Storylines:

SVG alone addresses the lack of coaching from last season. People under-estimate the value of coaching. We had no systems or structures last season at all!

SVG also addressed the culture/locker room leadership issue through Butler...while Gray and Martin were acquired for their work ethics. Those 3 were chased early in the process...SVG wouldn't have targeted them for **** and giggles

SVG also addressed the lack of shooting with Meeks and DJ while addressing our poor bench

How it all fits together is THE storyline for us. SVG saw our weaknesses and went about correcting them. The names aren't sexy but the results might be...

And if we don't get the results hello Lotto Pick 2015

Sent from my GT-I9300 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[sc8581]

Depth chart:

PG: Jennings, DJ, Bynum
SG: KCP, Meeks, Martin
SF: Singler, Butler, Datome
PF: Monroe, Smith, Jerebko
*C: Drummond, Gray

Dinwiddie red shirts the season

Storylines:

SVG alone addresses the lack of coaching from last season. People under-estimate the value of coaching. We had no systems or structures last season at all!

SVG also addressed the culture/locker room leadership issue through Butler...while Gray and Martin were acquired for their work ethics. Those 3 were chased early in the process...SVG wouldn't have targeted them for **** and giggles

SVG also addressed the lack of shooting with Meeks and DJ while addressing our poor bench

How it all fits together is THE storyline for us. SVG saw our weaknesses and went about correcting them. The names aren't sexy but the results might be...

And if we don't get the results hello Lotto Pick 2015

Sent from my GT-I9300 using RealGM Forums mobile app

So you would start Monroe over Smith at the 4 even though our biggest issue last year was defense? Interesting.

[Invictus88]

Depth chart:

PG: Jennings, DJ, Bynum
SG: KCP, Meeks, Martin
SF: Singler, Butler, Datome
PF: Monroe, Smith, Jerebko
*C: Drummond, Gray

Dinwiddie red shirts the season

Storylines:

SVG alone addresses the lack of coaching from last season. People under-estimate the value of coaching. We had no systems or structures last season at all!

SVG also addressed the culture/locker room leadership issue through Butler...while Gray and Martin were acquired for their work ethics. Those 3 were chased early in the process...SVG wouldn't have targeted them for **** and giggles

SVG also addressed the lack of shooting with Meeks and DJ while addressing our poor bench

How it all fits together is THE storyline for us. SVG saw our weaknesses and went about correcting them. The names aren't sexy but the results might be...

And if we don't get the results hello Lotto Pick 2015

Sent from my GT-I9300 using RealGM Forums mobile app

So you would start Monroe over Smith at the 4 even though our biggest issue last year was defense? Interesting.

The Pistons defensive woes were systemic. If it were just a case of only Monroe playing poor defense than maybe I could see where you are coming from. The reality is that virtually every player played poorly on that side of the floor -- Smith and Monroe included (along with all of our guards / forwards excluding KCP at times).

[sc8581]

Depth chart:

PG: Jennings, DJ, Bynum
SG: KCP, Meeks, Martin
SF: Singler, Butler, Datome
PF: Monroe, Smith, Jerebko
*C: Drummond, Gray

Dinwiddie red shirts the season

Storylines:

SVG alone addresses the lack of coaching from last season. People under-estimate the value of coaching. We had no systems or structures last season at all!

SVG also addressed the culture/locker room leadership issue through Butler...while Gray and Martin were acquired for their work ethics. Those 3 were chased early in the process...SVG wouldn't have targeted them for **** and giggles

SVG also addressed the lack of shooting with Meeks and DJ while addressing our poor bench

How it all fits together is THE storyline for us. SVG saw our weaknesses and went about correcting them. The names aren't sexy but the results might be...

And if we don't get the results hello Lotto Pick 2015

Sent from my GT-I9300 using RealGM Forums mobile app

So you would start Monroe over Smith at the 4 even though our biggest issue last year was defense? Interesting.

The Pistons defensive woes were systemic. If it were just a case of only Monroe playing poor defense than maybe I could see where you are coming from. The reality is that virtually every player played poorly on that side of the floor -- Smith and Monroe included (along with all of our guards / forwards excluding KCP at times).

No doubt. That being said, he's replacing Smith with Singler while leaving Moose and Jennings on the floor together again, no system will fix that. Monroe also would seem like the obvious choice to come off the bench because of his style on the offensive end. Putting him out there with DJ, JJ, Butler and Meeks would give him the best opportunity to go one on one in the paint and show what he can do with those passing skills if they dare to double him and leave one of those guys open.

[Pharaoh]

Depth chart:

PG: Jennings, DJ, Bynum
SG: KCP, Meeks, Martin
SF: Singler, Butler, Datome
PF: Monroe, Smith, Jerebko
*C: Drummond, Gray

Dinwiddie red shirts the season

Storylines:

SVG alone addresses the lack of coaching from last season. People under-estimate the value of coaching. We had no systems or structures last season at all!

SVG also addressed the culture/locker room leadership issue through Butler...while Gray and Martin were acquired for their work ethics. Those 3 were chased early in the process...SVG wouldn't have targeted them for **** and giggles

SVG also addressed the lack of shooting with Meeks and DJ while addressing our poor bench

How it all fits together is THE storyline for us. SVG saw our weaknesses and went about correcting them. The names aren't sexy but the results might be...

And if we don't get the results hello Lotto Pick 2015

Sent from my GT-I9300 using RealGM Forums mobile app

So you would start Monroe over Smith at the 4 even though our biggest issue last year was defense? Interesting.

Not really interesting.

Our biggest issue last season was a lack of coaching. We solved that problem

Sent from my GT-I9300 using RealGM Forums mobile app

[Invictus88]

So you would start Monroe over Smith at the 4 even though our biggest issue last year was defense? Interesting.

The Pistons defensive woes were systemic. If it were just a case of only Monroe playing poor defense than maybe I could see where you are coming from. The reality is that virtually every player played poorly on that side of the floor -- Smith and Monroe included (along with all of our guards / forwards excluding KCP at times).

No doubt. That being said, he's replacing Smith with Singler while leaving Moose and Jennings on the floor together again, no system will fix that. Monroe also would seem like the obvious choice to come off the bench because of his style on the offensive end. Putting him out there with DJ, JJ, Butler and Meeks would give him the best opportunity to go one on one in the paint and show what he can do with those passing skills if they dare to double him and leave one of those guys open.

I guess part of my issue is that I see Butler starting over Singler at the 3 and DJ starting over Jennings at the point. If that's the case then you have the spacing that you want Monroe to utilize in the starting lineup.

I also have it being a toss-up between Meeks and KCP starting at 2. It could even flip-flop depending on the match-up.

[sc8581]

Depth chart:

PG: Jennings, DJ, Bynum
SG: KCP, Meeks, Martin
SF: Singler, Butler, Datome
PF: Monroe, Smith, Jerebko
*C: Drummond, Gray

Dinwiddie red shirts the season

Storylines:

SVG alone addresses the lack of coaching from last season. People under-estimate the value of coaching. We had no systems or structures last season at all!

SVG also addressed the culture/locker room leadership issue through Butler...while Gray and Martin were acquired for their work ethics. Those 3 were chased early in the process...SVG wouldn't have targeted them for **** and giggles

SVG also addressed the lack of shooting with Meeks and DJ while addressing our poor bench

How it all fits together is THE storyline for us. SVG saw our weaknesses and went about correcting them. The names aren't sexy but the results might be...

And if we don't get the results hello Lotto Pick 2015

Sent from my GT-I9300 using RealGM Forums mobile app

So you would start Monroe over Smith at the 4 even though our biggest issue last year was defense? Interesting.

Not really interesting.

Our biggest issue last season was a lack of coaching. We solved that problem

Sent from my GT-I9300 using RealGM Forums mobile app

I was under the impression that shooting and defense were a big part of the game as well, plus putting the right combination of guys on the floor together seems to be a coaching decision to me.

[sc8581]

The Pistons defensive woes were systemic. If it were just a case of only Monroe playing poor defense than maybe I could see where you are coming from. The reality is that virtually every player played poorly on that side of the floor -- Smith and Monroe included (along with all of our guards / forwards excluding KCP at times).

No doubt. That being said, he's replacing Smith with Singler while leaving Moose and Jennings on the floor together again, no system will fix that. Monroe also would seem like the obvious choice to come off the bench because of his style on the offensive end. Putting him out there with DJ, JJ, Butler and Meeks would give him the best opportunity to go one on one in the paint and show what he can do with those passing skills if they dare to double him and leave one of those guys open.

I guess part of my issue is that I see Butler starting over Singler at the 3 and DJ starting over Jennings at the point. If that's the case then you have the spacing that you want Monroe to utilize in the starting lineup.

I also have it being a toss-up between Meeks and KCP starting at 2. It could even flip-flop depending on the match-up.

All fair points for sure but that still leaves the paint crowded for Monroe with Drummond being out there. Two years ago I thought Moose was at his best while playing with CV, vise versa as well. Just an observation.