Detroit offseason review on the Trade board

[HartfordWhalers]

As part of a series of offseasons in review -- viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1467470 -- a few of us on the trade board have been doing, today was the Detroit's turn for a review. So please feel free to swing by and tell us what we got right and wrong, and what you think about the Detroit's offseason here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1476222

In general the reviews ranged from expecting 44 to 47 wins (a tight range), with letter grades from C+ to B+.

And a special thanks to Laimbeer for contributing!

[hoophabit]

Pretty reasonable takes for the most part. Where basketball is concerned it's so boring this time of year.

[joedumars1]

Decent analysis, Figure this can go here. Season really needs to get started. Have some weird convo's going on. Have the Lions coming this Sunday tho..... gulp

"Not only were the Pistons’ the youngest team in last year’s playoffs (weighted by minutes played), they were the seventh-youngest all-time:"

The Pistons built their young core. They signed veteran reinforcements. They even added Henry Ellenson and Boban Marjanovic with an eye toward the future.

But they’re unlikely to draft high again anytime soon. They’re capped out and will be limited in free agency.

http://nba.nbcsports.com/2016/09/01/51q-how-big-a-next-step-forward-can-the-detroit-pistons-take/

Enjoy this season. Talk about the future in the off season or during the season when we get a little better grasp of how Stan is going to use everyone. Cause we don't know for sure. Might have ideas, but not fo sure.

[bondom34]

Thanks for dropping in on the trade board guys, and good luck this season. Also, sorry if there've been hard feelings in the past. Hope we can be cool, I know the whole RJ thing got crazy last year, but hopefully we can put it in the past, I'd rather be on good terms w/ people as much as possible and not hold a grudge. If you still can't stand me that's cool too, but I actually kinda like your team (though I will admit RJ vs. Russ will still be fun I think for both fanbases ). Peace all.

[hoophabit]

Thanks for dropping in on the trade board guys, and good luck this season. Also, sorry if there've been hard feelings in the past. Hope we can be cool, I know the whole RJ thing got crazy last year, but hopefully we can put it in the past, I'd rather be on good terms w/ people as much as possible and not hold a grudge. If you still can't stand me that's cool too, but I actually kinda like your team (though I will admit RJ vs. Russ will still be fun I think for both fanbases ). Peace all.

No hard feelings at all. RJ is a pretty good player, and Westbrook is great. It really isn't an argument. This team desperately needed help at the point.

I feel bad for OKC after Durant's decision. "Superfriends!?" I'm not saying it wasn't his right, but recall a day when superstars didn't consider it being competitive to go join the teams who beat you. At some point maybe we just need one real NBA team and their version of the Washington Generals?

Good luck in the coming season (except when you play the Pistons, of course.)

[MotownMadness]

I've been watching a lot of games from last season and watching some tape on Johnson. Just going back and actually paying very close attention to Johnson got me realizing how good this kid can be. He is a friggin brute with his size and strength. He's the future of this team in my opinion with his work ethic and competitiveness nature. Just watching the way he can defend and body up people as a rookie makes me really believe he is going to be a elite defender in the mold of a Butler or Leonard type.

[Snakebites]

I thought the grades were pretty fair.

We really didn't have an exciting offseason, no big targets landed, didn't get a phenomenal drop in the draft. We hopefully made some moves that should shore up our bench.

[Kilo]

Looking back at the off-season in hindsight, the only thing I'd like to change is Ish Smith's 3rd year to a team option from being outright guaranteed. The point guard FA class was a poo-poo platter for the most part, bad luck on timing on our part I guess and given we'll be capped out we couldn't wait on next years much deeper PG free agent class.

[DocRI]

I've been watching a lot of games from last season and watching some tape on Johnson. Just going back and actually paying very close attention to Johnson got me realizing how good this kid can be. He is a friggin brute with his size and strength. He's the future of this team in my opinion with his work ethic and competitiveness nature. Just watching the way he can defend and body up people as a rookie makes me really believe he is going to be a elite defender in the mold of a Butler or Leonard type.

I've been hesitant to post this for months, but since you opened the door, here goes — this is crazy homer optimism, but SOME (not all, but SOME) of Johnson's rookie year stats look eerily similar to Kawhi Leonard's rookie year stats. If Stanley could follow that same trajectory and even become 85% of the player Leonard is ... paired with Drummond, our future is very, VERY bright.

[bwgood77]

Read on Twitter

[In SVG We Trust]

Thanks for dropping in on the trade board guys, and good luck this season. Also, sorry if there've been hard feelings in the past. Hope we can be cool, I know the whole RJ thing got crazy last year, but hopefully we can put it in the past, I'd rather be on good terms w/ people as much as possible and not hold a grudge. If you still can't stand me that's cool too, but I actually kinda like your team (though I will admit RJ vs. Russ will still be fun I think for both fanbases ). Peace all.

Hey, I don't like you because you're a hard fan of your team, but I got to respect that, because you're a REAL fan and act like a real one. We obviously are not going to give up to the other in a discussion, but hey, sports would be so much bored without guys like us. And I'm a big fan of Russ, enjoy him, he's an alpha male with a winner mentality, there isn't too many players like him nowadays (you know what I mean).

[bondom34]

Thanks for dropping in on the trade board guys, and good luck this season. Also, sorry if there've been hard feelings in the past. Hope we can be cool, I know the whole RJ thing got crazy last year, but hopefully we can put it in the past, I'd rather be on good terms w/ people as much as possible and not hold a grudge. If you still can't stand me that's cool too, but I actually kinda like your team (though I will admit RJ vs. Russ will still be fun I think for both fanbases ). Peace all.

Hey, I don't like you because you're a hard fan of your team, but I got to respect that, because you're a REAL fan and act like a real one. We obviously are not going to give up to the other in a discussion, but hey, sports would be so much bored without guys like us. And I'm a big fan of Russ, enjoy him, he's an alpha male with a winner mentality, there isn't too many players like him nowadays (you know what I mean).

Thanks man, I hate your guts too . And you're welcome on the OKC board whenever. Just preferably to me not if Detroit beats OKC haha! Respect to you, and good luck on the season.

[Blkbrd671]

Great thread for our newer posters, hopefully our TT mods are a little kinder this season with the review of our team.

This has to be one of the most ironic threads of all time. Going to be interesting come mid-season and see how many of our posters "got no hard feelings" once sh* starts getting real.

[HartfordWhalers]

Great thread for our newer posters, hopefully our TT mods are a little kinder this season with the review of our team.

This has to be one of the most ironic threads of all time. Going to be interesting come mid-season and see how many of our posters "got no hard feelings" once sh* starts getting real.

I gave the highest grade, a B+ (although I did call it Boring). My central grades so far:
Detroit: B+
Chicago: C-
Indiana: D
Milwaukee: F
Cleveland: Delayed hoping on a JR contract to judge

No cream puff grading. (To be fair, the central had a rough offseason in general imo).

[whitehops]

good reviews, wouldn't expect an A for an offseason where we signed three backups and had a non-lotto first round pick. none of the moves, individually, blow you away. but when you look at how they fit with the team we should be happy with the offseason.


i'm very excited for the next three years to be honest. the re-build happened in a blur, the "build" happened pretty quickly and now we have our young team locked up for the next three years. SVG has built what is likely the most versatile roster in the league when you look at all the different skill sets and that is perfect for playoff basketball. there's no doubt that talent is key in the playoffs but having an answer for what your opponent throws at you and the ability to throw different things at your opponent is a big part of it too. especially when you have a coach like SVG who is great at making in-game adjustments

my only thing is i don't think the future of our franchise depends on SJ turning into a stud or drummond turning into MVP-level dwight howard. guys like tobias harris and KCP can be very good players and are young enough where them making big improvements isn't out of the question. heck, watching KCP handle the ball and run the pick and roll now compared to even two years ago is night and day and he's still improving at making plays with the ball. jimmy butler really broke out when he was 25, KCP turns 24 towards the end of this season. KCP might not "break out" like jimmy did but he's showing constant improvement which is only good for the team. reggie jackson is 26 but last year was his first as a full-time PG. in okc he was the pseudo-PG as westbrook and durant usually had the ball anyways. jackson improving his decision-making ability will be huge for the team too.

[Blkbrd671]

Great thread for our newer posters, hopefully our TT mods are a little kinder this season with the review of our team.

This has to be one of the most ironic threads of all time. Going to be interesting come mid-season and see how many of our posters "got no hard feelings" once sh* starts getting real.

I gave the highest grade, a B+ (although I did call it Boring). My central grades so far:
Detroit: B+
Chicago: C-
Indiana: D
Milwaukee: F
Cleveland: Delayed hoping on a JR contract to judge

No cream puff grading. (To be fair, the central had a rough offseason in general imo).

Can you include the literature to back the grade, as you know, i have no access

[HartfordWhalers]

Spoiler:

Great thread for our newer posters, hopefully our TT mods are a little kinder this season with the review of our team.

This has to be one of the most ironic threads of all time. Going to be interesting come mid-season and see how many of our posters "got no hard feelings" once sh* starts getting real.

I gave the highest grade, a B+ (although I did call it Boring). My central grades so far:
Detroit: B+
Chicago: C-
Indiana: D
Milwaukee: F
Cleveland: Delayed hoping on a JR contract to judge

No cream puff grading. (To be fair, the central had a rough offseason in general imo).

Can you include the literature to back the grade, as you know, i have no access

Detroit Offseason Review

Hartfordwhalers Review

Key Losses:

Losses:
Anthony Tolliver
Jodie Meeks
Steve Blake
Joel Anthony
Spencer Dinwiddie
Adonis Thomas

Tolliver is the only one that registers at all, and replacing him with Ellenson seems fine. It is rare you can see a team lose so many players and yet feel the team didn't lose anything of true value, or even break up its own core.

Draft:
#18 Henry Ellenson
#49 Michael Gbinije

Ellenson at #18 was solid value. I'm totally good with this draft as a good but non spectacular draft.

Trades:
Spencer Dinwiddie for Cameron Bairstow
Jodie Meeks to Orlando Magic for a 2019 second-rounder

The first trade didn't matter. The second got cap space and a 2nd for a guy with na injury that... he still has and will miss a lot of next season for. How did Orlando approve that trade?

Free Agency:
Andre Drummond 5/$127.2m (last year PO)
Jon Leuer 4/$42m (with $1 million of unlikely incentives).
Ish Smith 3/$18m
Boban Marjanovic 3/$21m
Henry Ellenson rookie-scale contract.
Ray McCallum 1 year nongtd

Love the Boban signing. Ish is a very poor man's Reggie Jackson, so this seems a solid place for him. If he is playing with Drummond, the lobs will be great. On the other hand, he cannot defend or shoot. I like the fit a ton though as he gets bigs easy looks, even if I question 3 full years at the MLE. Leuer seems a solid pick up, although looking at the depth chart a lot rides on KCP and I would have liked to see a backup for him instead. This was Detroit's shot at cap space, and they look to be a MLE team going forward.

Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Reggie Jackson, Ish Smith, Lorenzo Brown, Ray McCallum
SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Darrun Hilliard., Michael Gbinije
SF: Marcus Morris, Stanley Johnson, Reggie Bullock
PF: Tobias Harris, Jon Leuer, Henry Ellenson
C: Andre Drummond, Boban Marjanovic, Aron Baynes

I switched Morris and Harris, and Baybes and Boban

Needs:
A breakout season from KCP. Stanley Johnson pushing Morris to the bench would be great to. Just internal development. Drummond to break out big time.

Additional Thoughts:
There are teams that did less, but Detroit's offseason feels the most vanilla of them. I will be surprised by any outlier grades, this seemed boring and solid, in that order.

Josh Smith is taking up $5,331,729 in cap space this season, and the three after that.

I would trade Baynes if they can.

Projected Win/Loss: 44-38

Off-Season Grade: B+ I gave the + for getting Drummond at 4+1, but I wanted to just write Boring.

bondom34 Review

Key Losses:

Losses:
Anthony Tolliver (Feel free move hm to key losses if you want)
Jodie Meeks
Steve Blake
Joel Anthony
Spencer Dinwiddie
Adonis Thomas

Draft:
#18 Henry Ellenson
#49 Michael Gbinije

Trades:
Spencer Dinwiddie for Cameron Bairstow
Jodie Meeks to Orlando Magic for a 2019 second-rounder

I have no idea how they got a second for Meeks.

Free Agency:
Andre Drummond 5/$127.2m
Jon Leuer 4/$42m (with $1 million of unlikely incentives).
Ish Smith 3/$18m
Boban Marjanovic 3/$21m
Henry Ellenson rookie-scale contract.
Ray McCallum 1 year nongtd

Oddly, I don't mind the Leuer deal, the Smith signing was too much to me, but he's still better than what they had. Boban is a decent deal, but confusing unless/until they move Baynes.

Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Reggie Jackson, Ish Smith, Lorenzo Brown, Ray McCallum
SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Darrun Hilliard., Michael Gbinije
SF: Tobias Harris, Stanley Johnson, Reggie Bullock
PF: Marcus Morris, Jon Leuer, Henry Ellenson
C: Andre Drummond, Aron Baynes, Boban Marjanovic

Needs:
Development, and personally I'm not a huge believer in Smith as backup PG, but he works in a pinch.

Additional Thoughts:
SVG has put together a really solid roster from what was once.....not. I'm not ready to say they're a top 4 seed yet but I think they continue improving and could win a round if they get a good matchup. I think the record is close to last year but they're a better team in reality with the east improving.

Projected Win/Loss:45-37

Off-Season Grade: B-

dbrandon Review

Key Losses:

Losses:
Anthony Tolliver
Jodie Meeks
Steve Blake
Joel Anthony
Spencer Dinwiddie
Adonis Thomas

None of these guys is a huge loss.

Draft:
#18 Henry Ellenson
#49 Michael Gbinije

I like both these guys for their draft spot, at least for what coverage I've seen of them. Will they be useful? IDK. But a very sound draft IMO.

Trades:
Spencer Dinwiddie for Cameron Bairstow
Jodie Meeks to Orlando Magic for a 2019 second-rounder

Dinwiddie for Bairstow is eh for eh. Don't really care either way.

Meeks was a good trade. Solid player when healthy, but he's been injured a decent amount and they could use a second and a little extra cap. Could do worse.

Free Agency:
Andre Drummond 5/$127.2m
Jon Leuer 4/$42m (with $1 million of unlikely incentives).
Ish Smith 3/$18m
Boban Marjanovic 3/$21m
Henry Ellenson rookie-scale contract.
Ray McCallum 1 year nongtd

Drummond was obvious. You lock him up, that's a no-brainer. Leuer was a good get (one of my possible value FA guys before the offseason started), though this seems a bit on the high side to me--he still needs to prove himself a little more IMO. That's surprising money for Smith, and I like Smith. Marjanovic's money is no real problem--he's likely not a heavy minute guy, and he's not great in pick and roll, but he's a very useful backup center and a guy they could use when Drummond is getting hacked.

McCallum as a 1-year nonguaranteed guy is a decent flier, but IDK if he'll pan out. My money's on no. But you can't do much worse than Blake and Dinwiddie, so hey, maybe something will turn out all right with him.

One thing Stan Van has shown is that he's not afraid to overpay slightly if he thinks you're his guy.

Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Reggie Jackson, Ish Smith, Lorenzo Brown, Ray McCallum
SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Darrun Hilliard., Michael Gbinije
SF: Tobias Harris, Stanley Johnson, Reggie Bullock
PF: Marcus Morris, Jon Leuer, Henry Ellenson
C: Andre Drummond, Aron Baynes, Boban Marjanovic

This is a solid enough depth chart. It doesn't knock your socks off, but there also aren't any gaping holes. This is very much a Stan Van Gundy team when you see how it's constructed.

Needs:
Mainly continued internal development. KCP, Tobias, Marcus, StanJo, Leuer. All those guys need to be able to at least light it up at an average level from outside. Small sample size says they'll likely be fine, but it's a small sample for a reason. We need to see them consistent. Reggie's continued improvement as a shooter will help, too, but for this team to reach the next level all their 2 to 4s need to be able to hit an open shot.

Tobias needs to develop as a defender. It was a problem in Orlando, but I didn't watch enough DET late in the season to see if it improved.

Andre needs to get better as a defender, too, especially leveraging his athleticism and his size to be a DeAndre Jordan-type rim protector. Jordan wasn't great by the numbers until this year, though his reputation was better than his advanced stats suggested. Drummond needs to figure out what Jordan did and make it part of his repertoire, as they're fairly similar in terms of physical profile, skill and playstyle.

Additional Thoughts:
I'm a little shakier on my assessment of the Pistons than a lot of other teams. Overall really like the direction the team's headed under SVG. Regardless of my disdain for Reggie, he's a solid starting point, and the young talent they've gotten projects well. Everything around Drummond and maybe Reggie at this point is interchangeable parts. They've shown they can be solid. Can they be better than that? We'll see.

Projected Win/Loss: 45 wins

Off-Season Grade: B

Slava Review

Key Losses:

Losses:
Anthony Tolliver
Jodie Meeks
Steve Blake
Joel Anthony
Spencer Dinwiddie
Adonis Thomas

Nothing too big here. Tolliver has been more than adequately replaced both through draft and free agency. Same with Steve Blake.

Draft:
#18 Henry Ellenson
#49 Michael Gbinije

If I had to pick a GM who would take Ellenson, knowing the potential downside, SVG would be my first guess. He loves having a stable of stretch 4s, so this was predictable. Someone like Taurean Prince falling to them would have been nice but as it is, Ellenson is likely the BPA.

Gbinjie, albeit being older than a typical rookie will likely have to work with the shot doctors to improve his jump shot consistency to go from a streaky shooter to a steady one. His strength and versatility to be a secondary ball handler gives him a chance to carve out a niche for himself as a back up SG in the league but like all Syracuse guards its hard to get a read on their defensive proficiency coming out of college, having played in a zone heavy scheme.

Trades:
Spencer Dinwiddie for Cameron Bairstow
Jodie Meeks to Orlando Magic for a 2019 second-rounder

Getting rid of Meeks' contract was a good move even if the money that opened up wasn't spent wisely.

Free Agency:
Andre Drummond 5/$127.2m
Jon Leuer 4/$42m (with $1 million of unlikely incentives).
Ish Smith 3/$18m
Boban Marjanovic 3/$21m
Henry Ellenson rookie-scale contract.
Ray McCallum 1 year nongtd

Drummond's RFA was a formality and it went without a hitch.

Ideally I'd have wished for a better PG than Ish Smith and wouldn't hesitate to use the Leuer money here but its hard to come up with a name that is not an injury risk (Brandon Jennings) or an implausible acquisition (Lin). Ish is cheap and an upgrade over Steve Blake, so that helps.

Leuer is another stretch 4 who did well in Phoenix when given the opportunity and he will work well with SVG but the money and duration of the contract is a luxury they could have lived without.

I'm not sure what the plan for Boban is considering he is not nimble enough to fit Stan's style of play on either side of the court and Baynes is more than adequate to be the back up center to a usually healthy and reliable Drummond. Again this is a bit of a luxury investment from a team that needs to keep options open to improve through free agency.

Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Reggie Jackson, Ish Smith, Lorenzo Brown, Ray McCallum
SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Darrun Hilliard., Michael Gbinije
SF: Tobias Harris, Stanley Johnson, Reggie Bullock
PF: Marcus Morris, Jon Leuer, Henry Ellenson
C: Andre Drummond, Aron Baynes, Boban Marjanovic

They could have upgraded back up SF and inserted Johnson into the starting line up while keeping Harris as the back up 4 and not invest in Leuer but the market for swingmen was crazy so this seems like a fit of convenience than something designed.

SG is the only position that seems a bit underserved but I'd assume Stan Johnson will slide over to add minutes there. Otherwise a well balanced line up.

Needs:
1. Continued development from Johnson and Pope.

Additional Thoughts:
Taking care of Drummond's extension was a neat bit of business and I think if they get a chance to upgrade on Reggie Jackson at PG, they should take it as that is their most likely way to break their ceiling.

As it stands this team is likely not good enough to make the 2nd round of the playoffs and they will be capped out once they take care of Pope's free agency. Their ability to improve through the draft isn't that good either if they keep picking in the late teens so I can see an entertaining albeit above average team here for the near future, which appears to be the design considering SVG's choices.

Projected Win/Loss: 46-36

Off-Season Grade:B

Laimbeer Review

Key Losses:

Losses:
Anthony Tolliver
Jodie Meeks
Steve Blake
Joel Anthony
Spencer Dinwiddie
Adonis Thomas

Tolliver was a marginal contributor He landed a contract way too rich to compete with. The others didn't contribute and the younger ones were more suspect than prospect.

Draft:
#18 Henry Ellenson
#49 Michael Gbinije

Ellenson was pretty good value at #18 based on a few mock drafts. I'd have rather seen them draft a guard, particularly a two. Leuer and Harris are ahead of him and locked up for a few years. I'm not crazy about it from a fit standpoint.

Trades:
Spencer Dinwiddie for Cameron Bairstow
Jodie Meeks to Orlando Magic for a 2019 second-rounder

Dinwiddie for Bairstow doesn't register, but it is amazing to get a pick for Meeks. A lot of Piston fans wondered what would have to be attached to move him.

Free Agency:
Andre Drummond 5/$127.2m (last year PO)
Jon Leuer 4/$42m (with $1 million of unlikely incentives).
Ish Smith 3/$18m
Boban Marjanovic 3/$21m
Henry Ellenson rookie-scale contract.
Ray McCallum 1 year nongtd

Getting Drummond to re-up was the biggest move of the offseason. Letting it drag out this far always made me nervous, though it supposedly was a foregone conclusion. Anything could have happened. Leuer, Smith. and Boban fill positions of need on a bench that was weak last season. But it's a good bit of money to lock up in three reserves, none of whom seems special.

Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Reggie Jackson, Ish Smith, Lorenzo Brown, Ray McCallum
SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Darrun Hilliard., Michael Gbinije
SF: Marcus Morris, Stanley Johnson, Reggie Bullock
PF: Tobias Harris, Jon Leuer, Henry Ellenson
C: Andre Drummond, Aron Baynes, Boban Marjanovic

It's possible Johnson starts at some point and I'd be delighted if Boban supplants Baynes as Dre's primary backup since he's the long term solution there. And a lot more fun to watch.

Needs:
The three point shooting could stand some improvement and depth at the two still seems light. And Drummond picking it up a notch and realizing more of his potential.

Additional Thoughts:
The free agent signings of Leuer, Smith, and Boban fit from a position standpoint and certainly should improve a team that had bench issues a season ago. But a good bit of cap was tied up in them and the values were just okay. Long term, a top drawer player to be a Batman or Robin to an evolved Drummond will be needed for the team to become a serious contender. Will the team have the financial flexibility to do this? Those signings could make it more difficult.

Bottom line, the Pistons are a bit improved and have cemented a lot of their team for a few seasons. But that may have created a firmer ceiling as well.

Projected Win/Loss: 47-35

Off-Season Grade: C+

[Blkbrd671]

Detroit Offseason Review

Hartfordwhalers Review

Key Losses:

Losses:
Anthony Tolliver
Jodie Meeks
Steve Blake
Joel Anthony
Spencer Dinwiddie
Adonis Thomas

Tolliver is the only one that registers at all, and replacing him with Ellenson seems fine.

He replaced by Leur actually. Ellenson doesn't look to get any minutes. I have stated on this board several times i think Ellenson if he can improve his strength can find a way to get minutes . Not many centers can take the ball of the rim and run the floor. (Ellenson still needs to prove he can in the NBA but i think he can suprise us much like SJ did last year .) Also a trade obviously would make this a lot more realistic.

It is rare you can see a team lose so many players and yet feel the team didn't lose anything of true value, or even break up its own core.

Well you can't get worst than the worst bench in the league. So we can get that feeling.

Draft:
#18 Henry Ellenson
#49 Michael Gbinije

Ellenson at #18 was solid value. I'm totally good with this draft as a good but non spectacular draft.

AT the end of the rookie contracts, there is always a "redraft" i think ellenson makes top 10 if not top 5.

Trades:
Spencer Dinwiddie for Cameron Bairstow
Jodie Meeks to Orlando Magic for a 2019 second-rounder

The first trade didn't matter. The second got cap space and a 2nd for a guy with na injury that... he still has and will miss a lot of next season for. How did Orlando approve that trade?

Dinwiddie trade may or may not have mattered. SD apparently requested for a trade rather than SVG looking to move him. I don't know what SD was showing in practice, but he still has a lot of upside if he can make a jumpshot and is now 4th year in the leauge which is his time to earn a contract. I ultimately think Ish smith is a better player , i just can't say for certain it didn't matter. I am hoping that SD shows out, however reality is probably closer to your assessment.

Free Agency:
Andre Drummond 5/$127.2m (last year PO)
Jon Leuer 4/$42m (with $1 million of unlikely incentives).
Ish Smith 3/$18m
Boban Marjanovic 3/$21m
Henry Ellenson rookie-scale contract.
Ray McCallum 1 year nongtd

Love the Boban signing.

Highly underrated, however i think Baynes is still the go to and Boban took Anthony's place as 3rd center if needed. Boban's ultimate value , is giving Dre somebody massive to practice against.I have a feeling we are going to see a huge jump in Dre's "moves around the basket". Dre literally said " only way i can score on Boban is to dunk it through him as he blocks everything". As a overly optimistic piston fan i have images of Andre Shaq-like posterizing ppl

Ish is a very poor man's Reggie Jackson, so this seems a solid place for him. If he is playing with Drummond, the lobs will be great. On the other hand, he cannot defend or shoot.

He maybe that for every other team , but in SVG's system i really think he takes another step. Especially with our bench unit. Also RJ , on this team is always looking to score(out of necessity) where as Smith tends to be a player trying to create and has a better feel in the pnr with Pace. We aren't going to need Ish to be curry from 3, but i think he can at least be as good as RJ last year from 3.

Also mind you when your commenting on Ish smith with Detroit posters, we are comparing him to steve blake. So literally anything is something to get excited about.

Spoiler:

I like the fit a ton though as he gets bigs easy looks, even if I question 3 full years at the MLE. Leuer seems a solid pick up, although looking at the depth chart a lot rides on KCP and I would have liked to see a backup for him instead. This was Detroit's shot at cap space, and they look to be a MLE team going forward.

Current Depth Chart: (taken from bbinsiders)
PG: Reggie Jackson, Ish Smith, Lorenzo Brown, Ray McCallum
SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Darrun Hilliard., Michael Gbinije
SF: Marcus Morris, Stanley Johnson, Reggie Bullock
PF: Tobias Harris, Jon Leuer, Henry Ellenson
C: Andre Drummond, Boban Marjanovic, Aron Baynes

I switched Morris and Harris, and Baybes and Boban

Needs:
A breakout season from KCP. Stanley Johnson pushing Morris to the bench would be great to. Just internal development. Drummond to break out big time.

Additional Thoughts:
There are teams that did less, but Detroit's offseason feels the most vanilla of them. I will be surprised by any outlier grades, this seemed boring and solid, in that order.

Josh Smith is taking up $5,331,729 in cap space this season, and the three after that.

I would trade Baynes if they can.

Projected Win/Loss: 44-38

Off-Season Grade: B+ I gave the + for getting Drummond at 4+1, but I wanted to just write Boring.

I think in this comments your un-familiarization of our team is apparent. SVG is going to be the best defensive team on the floor even at the cost of some offense. I think Leur could push harris for starting pf spot and harris push mook for starting SF spot as both bring more size than the later. SJ will be 6th man to fill the SG or either of the forward spots. Bullock and hillard essentially follow SJ filling in the remain voids as both players can play the 2-3 spots.

Also in regards to internal development. Looking at the age of our team, everyone can internally develop and end up taking another step in their career. I think that fact is what makes us scary. for the most part, great analysis.

[HartfordWhalers]

[I think in this comments your un-familiarization of our team is apparent.

Okay then.

[dVs33]

All the reviews seem pretty fair.
it would been fun if we somehow got horford, but we needed a solid and boring offseason and we got it. Our core is already in place so we just needed to upgrade the bench and that happened.