What are the Detroit Pistons doing? | The Athletic NBA Show

What are the Detroit Pistons doing? | The Athletic NBA Show

The overvaluing of your guys over the past few years has been such a massive problem and this can slide us into what the hell is Detroit doing I mean last year they were so adamant we have to have two first round picks for banovich and then this year to get no first round

Picks for bonovich it’s kind of like overplaying your hand they could have gotten I think a first round pick last year if they were willing to actually play ball with moving bonovich a guy that didn’t fit their team whatsoever and we all kind of knew at some point

They were going to trade I just think there was a level of that and I think the same thing with the Nets in terms of overvaluing bridges to degree uh and we’ve seen it across the board with a lot of teams at this deadline we saw it

Last year I think there’s a lot of that stuff going around where teams need to kind of start being more realistic of the value of their guys and what they think they can get for them and I think as a way of segueing into Detroit a

Little bit um I think the the flip side is one of their trade Partners uh not the trade they made with Detroit but the trade they made with with with Charlotte was Utah where okay they got a with with uh with with Toronto where they got a

First round pick for Kelly oen but they had to include a guy they drafted in in the first round last year in O abaj and you know okay that might hurt a little to give up on a guy but all right but we’re still getting a good deal because

We got a first round pick for for Kelly o lenck and for a team in our spot kind of the upside of the mystery box is better for us than the the even if if we think baji is going to become like a solid rotation Wing where we are as a

Team that doesn’t really help us and I think that um when you’re talk about overvaluing your players or overvaluing mis valuing players even considering who uh Detroit brought in from Utah in Simone fonio I think that’s sort of the situational value the teams that understand that do well and the teams

That don’t don’t I’ll say this the Knicks are a good example of this with Quinton Grimes right they made the decision now instead of you know let’s go and sign the contract and then try to make the trade I I think that this is again this is just good decision making

At every single level by the Knicks and it’s a nice surprise right like it’s a nice change of pace this last few years has been refreshing let’s swing it to Detroit I was going to save him a little bit but I I feel like we we just got too

Much meat on this and we might be there for a while Detroit continues to be just confusing um Quinton Grimes I think he’s a good young player he is gonna take minutes away from their younger players that play the same position already they’re not confusing they’re confused

Yes SE stole my line you bastard you bastard now on I’m not doing the pointing thing I’m just gonna say my line that’s damn it’s double dud but you look at like again we’ve made we’ve made the jokes for a couple years about having all the centers now they’re going

To get all the combo guards I I just there’s there’s a lot happening with with Detroit um the fonio deal that they made yesterday um he’s a good player but they need that pick like this team Pi in the draft yeah it’s it’s a really

Good pick for them and I I think that that’s a huge mistake um getting something it’s not a it’s not a huge mistake but it’s a it’s an ill illustration that you don’t know where you are or have any real plan to get to where you want to go I mean it’s like

Some handwavy stuff about well it allows us to put our guys in a good environment yada yada yada sure what environment what environment to not play to sit on the bench and watch kilan Hayes play like what environment are we talking about now we’re GNA hold on hold on and now we’re gonna

Do the same thing with Quinton Grimes playing over Marcus saucer like what what environment like that’s the that’s the deal there like you know yeah they they moved Killian Hayes out and now it’s just Quinton Grimes is going to get those minutes I mean it’s also just you

Think about it a a a second-year guy who has played most of his career in Europe is suddenly like your your solid you know your your solid piece you’re you’re going to build around I think we I think it’s a question we’ve gotten in a bunch of different mailbags and I’m not sure

We’ve ever actually answered it is is sort of like does it actually work when teams try to Showcase a player ahead of the trade deadline and fonio is like the best example I can think of a team successfully doing that in a long long long time yeah and fanto looked better

In Utah because they knew how to use him and they used him in a way that showcased every single good thing about his game the Thunder have been good about this too like they know how to plug role players in like Isaiah Joe Isaiah Joe has looked amazing in

Oklahoma City because they know exactly what he does they know exactly how to use him would isaia Joe look awesome everywhere else maybe not with fio is fento going to look great in Detroit I have my doubts as to what that’s going to look like because there’s not a plan

There you know maybe watch Kevin Knox look amazing in Utah just just become like a player because he’s playing with Will Hardy I just think that having like a clear plan of how you’re going to use these guys is such a huge deal that Detroit is just not getting and they’re

Going to be oh man look what fento doing over let’s bring over here I will not be surprised if this is not a guy that’s playing you know the last like 10 games because he’s just not that guy it’s just it’s it’s it’s not even the hard part

About it Andrew with the way the season has gone with Detroit he might not just be playing not because they whether he’s that guy or not just m doesn’t want to play him like that’s kind way that’s that’s sort of you’re right on about having a plan in terms of when you’re

Trading for a guy and how you’re gonna use him and plug it in Monty might just go ah I don’t feel like it like it’s it’s you know I I know I’m dumping on him but like you know uh Seth Seth said it in in one of our chats like it’s nice

It’s good that they finally realize like hey man we don’t need Killian Hayes anymore you know but it’s sad that you wasted so many minutes on him that should have gone to your other guys that needed to develop more important players that are more important to your

Organization at this point if you didn’t if the organization didn’t know who Killian Hayes was by coming into this season I don’t know what the hell they were watching and I think that’s really one of those massive problems like Detroit needs to make a turnaround they need to start figuring out what they’re

Doing and I think the starting point is is really just getting a handle of who the hell they are and part of the handle is they’re bad and that means that like I think our colleague James Edwards reported earlier in the year that they had a uh a a a

Trade in place in the off season to move Hayes out to clear up some minutes for Jaden ivy for Marcus Sasser and and Williams killed the trade and because he like the the toughness or whatever and it’s just like okay you’ve got a you’ve got a was it six seven

Eighty year contract you can take some L’s this year by not having that we’re gonna we want to get a look at these guys and they just they didn’t do that and this and now it’s another wasted season for Detroit and they you know they go into the off season they’ve got

Guys they’ve got to make decisions on as far as extensions and we don’t know what Kate Cunningham is I’ve been a big Kade I I I’ve been a big fan of Kate Cunningham’s potential I don’t think we still know what he looks like as a as a lead player I think

There’s reasons to have some skepticism we don’t know what really what they don’t know what Quinton Grimes is will they have enough chance to evaluate this season they’re going to go into next season not knowing what jayen iy is they’re going to go into the season after that not knowing what Marcus it’s

It’s just it these things are just compounding on themselves and for the team that was as talent and asset poor as any team in the league can we really say that at this trade deadline they’ve upgraded in either area no no I mean Quinton gri look Quinton Grimes is better than Killian

Hayes so congratulations yeah but Alec but he’s not better than Alec BS and bovic yeah he’s not so I I just I I mean look we can’t contract the Detroit Pistons right like we’re kind of stuck with them but when you look how do they get out of this hole that they’ve dug

For themselves I mean it’s is it all Cade is it Cade needs to be healthy and Cade needs to pop and then everything else will come up someone else doing the digging I was going to say you can’t trust this front off to put solid players there

The Athletic NBA Show discuss the Detroit Pistons’ future after the trade deadline.