My takes and grades on each player and what the team should do with each moving forward.
I should preface this entire post with the statement that I’m not a doomer fan, I don’t consider myself to be the biggest blind supporter of its players, I genuinely did not miss a single game this season and I would consider myself relatively reasonable. If don’t mention a player, assume I don’t think highly of them and consider them expendable.
Cade Cunningham: (A-) self explanatory, he’s the real deal, turnovers being the only concern in his entire game, which I would mostly contribute to him having far too much on his shoulders as far as ball handling goes. The offence was entirely reliant on him being the engine and that is almost always going to amount to turnovers and fatigue. He is one of two completely untouchable players on the roster, I wouldn’t hear a realistic trade offer for Cade for anyone in the league. He gets an A- rather than A+ due to the turnovers but with adequate help he will be an MVP contender next season.
Duncan Robinson: (B) solid acquisition for the team overall. Incredibly lacking on the defensive side of the ball, and I wish he was better at moving around off ball to get more open looks, but he was good enough at forcing teams to guard him from anywhere in the half court. However, I do not believe he will be a part of this team in the starting lineup in a potential championship winning version of the Detroit Pistons strictly because he simply cannot handle and distribute the ball effectively enough and teams are willing to spend 18 seconds of the shot clock hunting him on defence. He was a perfect fit for what the team needed as after a 40+ win season but he’s inadequate for the team after a 60 win season if they want to take that next step. I wouldn’t be mad if we keep him in Detroit but he can’t be the best shooter on the team.
Ausar Thompson: (B+) I should mention that I am incredibly high on Ausar Thompson. I understand the concerns with his jump shot but the idea that he can’t develop an offensive game is asinine. His lack of development on the offensive end this season is a product of the team performing much better than expected in the regular season and so his development reps were back burnered. He is 100% the most talented defender in basketball not named Victor Wembanyama and if you can’t recognize that we wouldn’t have made it out of the first round without him you should go watch Kenny Atkinson’s post game presser from Game 7, or go watch every game of the Knicks series in the playoffs last season. Both teams entire game plan was the offence moves away from Ausar at all costs. He is the only other player who I would consider to be untouchable on this roster.
Ronald Holland: (C+) Hollands grade is partially based on his lack of usability for anything other than energy off the bench and partially based on the fact he wasn’t given many opportunities to prove he’s useful otherwise. He has the right mindset to improve, and he exudes the attitude that we froth over in Detroit (which is starting to become a bit annoying), but his game consists of certainly above average defence and driving with the ball like Derrick Henry running through the A gap and hoping he can get the ball in the general direction of the basket. I wouldn’t mind keeping him but he will likely be a part of a trade package if we want to find another ball handler for the starting lineup.
Jalen Duren: (B-) where do I begin with Duren? 1 month ago you couldn’t convince me he doesn’t deserve a blank cheque. If my season grades were only covering the regular season he would get an A- but that’s not the case. This post is being written after a report that Trajan plans to keep him on the team, which to be honest I am completely fine with. It’s hard to ignore the absolute wet diarrhea he just made all over the court for 13/14 games in the playoffs but it’s also hard to ignore that he has made legitimate defensive improvements since Monty Williams was terrorizing the team. I believe it’s possible we can look back at this playoff performance and think “super glad we’ve moved past that” but it’s hard to think we’re about to give him $40m a year for that gamble. I have come to peace with the fact that we’re probably going to overpay him. I would like to keep him for something closer to $25-30m per year but that’s not reality so I’ll move on.
Isaiah Stewart: (B) Beef Stew was an important part of this team in the regular season. Hell, he was vital in the Orlando Magic series as a rim protector and general floor raiser while Duren was pissing himself all over the court. His game didn’t translate as well in the Cavs series but I heard somewhere he was playing through some type of injury. Which brings me to one of his major downsides, he seems to wear down drastically as the season moves into the last third of its games, I don’t know how to mitigate that, but two seasons in a row he appears to deal with some type of chronic injury in his knees or hips. He’s another guy that I would love to keep in Detroit and I’m not sure what type of market he has as far as trades go, but if he’s only gonna be a trade throw in piece I’d probably rather keep him.
Paul Reed: (?) I don’t even know what to say about BBall. He was clearly fantastic in the playoffs for us off the bench. But I do not join some of those in this sub who believe we should move him to a starting spot in the lineup. He lacks size and one of his biggest strengths is being able to come at 115% off the bench. He has legitimate skills and I’m sure this years playoffs has him on most teams radar. We should not keep both him and Beef Stew, and I think his market is likely better at this point therefore I think we could end up trading him.
Tobias Harris: (B) Tobias Harris was the quintessential floor raiser this season, smooth and consistent for the most part, rarely had a huge stinker of a game. Never really made bad decisions with the ball in his hands, another player I would consider resigning but this team as a championship contender cannot include Tobias in the starting lineup. Not because he’s bad but because we need someone better.
Daniss Jenkins: (B) if I were only considering expectations in these grades Daniss is as A+ as it gets, legitimately came out of nowhere and became a starter on a 60 win team in the playoffs. I’m part of the sell high party for Daniss, I really like him but I don’t think his skill set fills in the gaps of this team as well as his potential trade value could, with his youth and extremely team friendly contract. I think he could be a player we regret keeping if he regresses even slightly next season.
Sasser didn’t play nearly enough for me to give him a grade this season, he is definitely better than his minutes, and the team should do him a favour and move him to a team that will give him opportunities.
I do not wish to see Caris Levert in a Pistons jersey next season. One game in the playoffs was not enough to change my mind on that.
This season was fun and exceeded my expectations.