Why the Detroit Pistons have struggled this season

Why the Detroit Pistons have struggled this season

Wanted to get you know into this podcast obviously and I don’t know if you’ve been watching Pistons games I don’t know if you’ve been able to watch as many pistons games obviously you know working a lot starting your new podcast but wanted to ask you why do you think the

Season has been such a failure under this team which we thought were gonna win like 30 games I know I did uh I had you know Chris on last or this week he said like 40 games like why do you think it’s been so bad it’s a great question it’s it’s a

Complex question I think there’s a lot of things that go into it’s funny about before the season Lindsey Hunter uh shout out to him by the way love Lindsay but he believe this team could make the playoffs without any additions this was like during the offseason last last off

Season and I’m like okay Lindsay like maybe you know I thought 30 Games was realistic hell they won six and were in February so um a lot of things have gone wrong I think a mix of you know number one I feel bad for Monty Williams I

Think that’s where my heart go I mean that you could criticize all you want I just think we all Pistons fans Pistons media we kind of overrated the players they currently have and maybe some of the players that were supposed to take a jump um Kate Cunningham undoubtedly um

He’s been excellent to start the season I know he’s been he’s just coming off an injury but you had injuries throughout the season and there’s not a lot of room for air err with this team I mean they they are up there in the in the NBA in turnovers and they barely Force

Turnovers and you’re terrible on defense and they’re not great on offense like it it’s a complete disaster now you see the addition of mikee muscala and denil galinari and what they’ve done I mean they still on like a four- game losing streak but for a minute there they

Looked better with veterans um this team just has a ton of Youth man it’s it’s a problem like the Zack LaVine stuff and I got Zack line out out with an ankle surgery which that’s a whole another thing I’m sure we’ll get into eventually because I think that’s a good thing for

The Pistons to be honest with you that that he is no longer an option it’s bad um I’ve had to defend Troy Weaver now at this point it’s over I mean Troy is getting fried and I think this trade deadline it’s hard because you you know he spent time clearing all this cap

Space but Anthony who are you getting like who’s there’s no help coming like I don’t know how this thing gets better like you look at the the roster and how it’s currently constructed it’s a disaster like it’s an absolute disaster and you got kilan Hayes asking for a

Trade now so that’s that apparently that’s news even though he’s getting pnps we’re definitely going to get get into Zack LaVine because there’s so much to get into there with the reporting and obviously having surgery definitely going to get into Killian Hayes because why not um people think I hate Killian

Hayes I think I’m a Killian Hayes a hater I’m not I just tell the truth and I don’t know maybe the truth is hard for some people they liveit a bubble um true but I think what you said like maybe we kind of overrated the players that we

Had absolutely agree with that I think sometimes when we watch our team and we’re so involved and there’s some people out there like myself where they don’t don’t watch any other basketball teams they’re just strictly Detroit Pistons and yeah you know sometimes maybe the media Hypes it up a little bit

You know the media was you know saying oh Pistons are gonna go get Cam Johnson we got Joe Harris and like Monte Morris but absolutely love Monte mors it’s more of like Joe Harris slander um who doesn’t play and he’s on a$1 19 million expiring like I I think there’s so many

Things that went wrong this season um I think rotations with Monty Williams he’s very stubborn uh we’ve seen that you know you put the ball in Jade Navy’s hands a little bit and he can score like Marcus asser’s getting more playing time now like there’s just been so much so

Much you could point to why it’s gone wrong and it’s just like you go down the list and it’s like man I don’t think they were ready for a coach like Monty Williams in my opinion I I think they needed the younger guy like I was advocating for Kevin Oly Charles Lee

Jiren Collins I thought like an assistant like like that or a first-time coach like Kevin Ali maybe you don’t get to the playoffs but maybe instead of going from 17 to 25 that’s progress and maybe right maybe they’re not at a six win maybe they’re like at a 15 game clip

Right now if they bring in one of those assistants that can maybe relate to them because they’re a little bit younger and relate to them on like a a human level and a basketball level as well but I just think Monty Williams to me he’s a vets coach I I’ve never really viewed

Him as like a young Player Development coach like I did with Dwayne Casey yeah and especially for Monty I mean you saw Monty in his first year in Phoenix to his second year like they drastically improved but really what took them over the top was getting Chris

Paul who’s an extension of a coach on the floor like they don’t they don’t have that like it’s it’s youth everywhere and that’s a problem like even in the in the St and by the way you’re point about the minutes is spot I’m like why the hell is James wisman

Seeing the floor at all like that that is a whole like that’s a whole they have like what seven guys in a bench rotation like that that’s a that’s too many like you if you haven’t figured out and I know the bench is you know to some

Extent been a little overrated but if you haven’t figured out a rotation now in February like there’s there’s a problem and that’s been the case like they’re they’re playing too many guys off the bench like Sasser should have already submitted himself in the rotation but no i j iy and and he’s been

Playing well over the last like 10 games he’s averaging almost 20 points 24 and four like he’s he’s playing really well yeah we talked about last week where I the way I see it maybe you know I overreact to everything but I don’t see the veterans getting called out

During press conferences I see Jaden Ivy constantly getting constantly called out like the younger guys that you’re supposed to lift up and develop you’re calling them out for every little thing and to your point like yeah if you don’t have your rotation set by in my opinion

By like December you should know what your rotations are you should need a quote unquote organizational meeting to say hey I just drafted J iy fifth overall um he needs the play uh nothing against Killian Hayes I I I just think you could play both of them if you

Wanted to but to me I think Killian should had have always been an emergency like backup point guard like I much would rather have seen Marcus Sasser play a bulk of the you know backup point guard minutes um until mon Morris had come back this season but I get it you

Know likes those tall tall guards that are defensive and kiling doesn’t make a whole lot of mistakes because he doesn’t really shoot the ball he just passes every little time so he doesn’t make a whole lot of mistakes to turnover so I get it from that standpoint but I I just

Think the season as a whole it’s a wash um I I haven’t even got into the draft this year because I’m just like I know we’re getting fifth like it’s just so depressing I’m so mad I I I do not I don’t want to cover the fifth overall

Draft pick I I have no interest like speaking of the fifth overall pick like what’s frustrated me the most I think this season with the assar Thompson storyline is in the beginning he’s he’s starting he’s playing a ton of minutes you’re losing but you’re seeing his development you’re seeing him as a

Defender you’re seeing his upside you’re like man this guy defensively is great now shooting is a whole another thing and now we’re in February and he’s coming off the bench it’s like what what what are we doing if I signed up and I think other if you’re going to lose if

You’re going to win six games in through all the way to February now you better lose with the players you plan to have throughout the the next five years I’m not I’m not I don’t want to see um Kevin Knox in the starting I don’t want to see

Mike muscala starting at the four like I have no interest in that duren’s development has been great but I the the assar Thompson and you’re mentioned it earlier with Ivy like it seems and I’m reading more quotes coming out of press conferences and I know you know Ivy’s

Family is not of it either and I don’t blame him like I I I don’t blame them it’s frustrating to see especially for Ivy’s playing so well and he played well early in the season but he’s young like there’s he’s gonna make mistakes and it seems like he’s he’s taking um at least

When when he gets brought up he’s it’s like these like not it’s passive aggressive comments towards Ivy that I don’t understand so for me if if I’m gonna win six games through February I it better be with the five that or four at least because you still looking for

Four the four that you see as the future like there’s no reason why assar should be playing minutes off the bench there’s no when he’s one of their best def they probably their best perimeter Defender and they’re one of the worst teams defensively like how does that make any

Sense yeah there there’s a graphic that b put out where like his when he’s off the bench versus he’s on the bench and like the net rating was over plus 10 like you just said it his defense alone impacts it but it’s like I I could get into debates about Monty Williams

Rotation until I’m BW in the face and I I think I’ll just be miserable but to say that this season has been underwhelming would be I think an overstatement in my opinion and you know you know what’s funny about the rotation stff it sounds like Dwayne

Casey all over again remember we we we were criticizing Dwayne for his rotation and now it’s the same thing gear one of Monty and I don’t want to I I think your point you made about Monty being the coach you you put the cherry on top when

When the desserts made right when this team’s constructed then you bring in a Monte I think you’re right I I don’t know if Monte although I think he’s a a good coach and that’s why I brought up the CP3 point I don’t know if this is

The the the right roster right now for a guy like Monte like you’re gonna have to bring in and I don’t know where you go get these guys but you’re gonna have to significantly upgrade this team to have any hope that Monty can can put together

A 40- win season like that that and I I don’t know how you do it this offseason I don’t even if you have the fifth overall pick like this draft at least from what I’ve read isn’t like it’s it’s been in prior years and I know that’s

Said every year but I don’t know how to fix it like this is the first season in a little bit here where I’ve been sitting here going okay there’s a problem how do we fix it I don’t have the solution like like I don’t know how

Troy is gonna figure it out because it it seems like there’s too many cooks in the kitchen anyway in the front office and I don’t know how much you know Control Troy has anyway yeah so I I don’t know like I wish I had more hope for Pistons

Fans there’s barely any to be to be told just Kate Cunningham who if I’m him and I’m his his his team if this keeps up the way it is I don’t blame them for being like man we got to get you out of here like we got to get

You out of here because yeah your career is going to be smeared early on like just because of the organization you’re a part of and I love the Pistons but it it sucks to say it I mean it does yeah it’s you look at the pre agents and it’s

Like a lot of Pistons fans have their your wishboard for Pas kelakam that’s obviously not going to happen um they they had a wishboard of of ogan and Obi it’s not going to happen no you look at the you know the top pre agents like are you getting James Harden

Probably not getting Paul George no no do you really want to throw the bag at Klay Thompson at this stage of his career probably not you’re you’re gonna get some mid-tier guys and to your point like yeah Chris Paul was a big reason why Phoenix took a a big leap in the

Winds because you you can go back and look at their record when Monty was coaching them they were a lottery team um apparently like I know Chris pilot said this last week you just need a Hall of Fame point guard to turn this around and we’ll be we’ll be back to the

Promised land but that’s it it’s all you need I I think it will get better I’m scared shitless over these next four days of what’s going to happen I I don’t know if they’re going to turn their attention to players like Tobias Harris who’s going to be a UFA maybe I

Mentioned it earlier Andrew Wiggins seems like just the type of player that they would Target not like an A+ player but like a solid like B minus player that could help out the defense a little bit but he’s been God awful this year for the Golden State Warriors I I I

Think he’s still uh grieving over the stuff that happened with his father I don’t know if his father passed away or not I think he got sick or something like that the last time I read it but um there’s this so many avenues that could go down

And it scares me because I haven’t seen them be aggressive since Troy Weaver’s first year as a GM like his first year as GM I thought was his best year as a GM I I agree I just haven’t seen that type of aggressiveness I haven’t seen

That same type of like the same types of moves that he was making like you know flipping Luke Gard so he get uh sadique bay uh you know trading up to get Isaiah Stewart drafting you know kilan Hayes obviously was a sep overall pick and a

Lot of people are h in him at that time um you know some people in the comments will probably say they weren’t high in him I mean from the consensus most Pistons fans were pretty high on Killian Hayes I fell victim to that I have a

Killi and Hayes Jersey in my closet and I’m not to um it makes two of us yeah that makes two of us I bought into the hype damn you Kevin o coner it but to to your point though about Troy Weaver it seems like the last

Year or so because even forget me Jaylen Duren he flipped that pick from Jeremy Grant like you go and get Jaylen durren now we’re like hell yeah like now you’re you’re being aggressive you’re building a young core but it seemed like over the last year it’s been in and it spoke

Volumes in the in the offseason when you trade for a Joe Harris and a Monty Morris it’s like I like the the core we have now and that goes back to the point we made about did we severely overrate this core because this team isn’t doing anything until guys take significant

Steps forward and Kate Cunningham is already already putting up you know if they were they’re winning games he’s putting up close to All-Star numbers so he he’s probably the last issue of concern Ivy’s looked better um but even for durren assar uh the players that surround them like you’re going to have

To maybe you can’t go out and get a you know to Chris’s uh proposal there love it Hall of Fame point guard maybe that’s not on the one of the options but maybe you can start building around these guys but at the end of the day Anthony it

Comes down to how how much can these guys take the next step like what does Jaden ivy look like next year is he had finally a 20 point score next decade Cunningham is AAR Thompson can he be a 30% just 30% three-point shooter like can can Duren be consistent in what he’s

Been doing like because he’s been an animal I mean didn’t get a double double this game but he’s been a 2020 walking 101 guy for the last couple of weeks now he’s been great this season like at the end of the day the success falls on those their those guys’ shoulders like

No one’s coming to save this team Tobias Harris will not save this roster he’s not saving next season like those are complim complimentary players at the end of the day like that’s just what they are they’re fourth options on on good teams yeah and I think that’s the routee

They’re going to go and it’s sad because I thought last summer was the the summer to have cap space I thought there were guys out there like I thought if you wanted to take a flyer in Harrison Barnes I would be okay with it um like guys like Kyle Koso were available

Cameron Johnson like I mentioned earlier like right there were some guys out there that I like yeah you could take a flyer on a Kelly UB maybe for a year or a tory but they didn’t do anything and you know you hear guys like AR tellum who makes

Business decisions in the front office saying like hey we didn’t feel like there was a a guy out there that really moved the needle and for me like I don’t I don’t understand that like all those guys that I mentioned could help you in the win column and help

You develop these young guys that we have like we have veterans on this team but they’re not vetting like right they’re get like Alec Burks is getting his buckets Bo is getting his buckets but they’re not like vetting like I I go back and I don’t know how old you were

During the SVG era they traded a draft pick of the name of Tony Mitchell I don’t know if that that name Rings about yep I remember Tony Mitchell yep and we we traded for a unknown name of Anthony toer and Anthony taliver came into this organization he was a perfect vet for

The young guys and the Pistons start going on this winning streak and the reason why I mentioned that is like you can get pretty decent vets on the cheap there’s like there’s guys like Tony Snell right now that like needs a job like Tony Snell would be a perfect

Vet uh for this team he might not get the Pistons a whole lot of wins but he’s a three and D Wing that assar Thompson could learn from like these guys at the end of the day they need veterans that have played this game and they can help

Them win and I think right now we have veterans they’re just not the the vets that I think that can elevate this team to the next level like they don’t have a veteran Center that Jaylen dur and Isaiah Stewart or James wisman can learn from right now they just don’t like

Marvin Bagley for all intents and purposes was supposed to be that vet but they dealt him for mcal and galinari which I get why they did it they wanted more cap space they didn’t want to pay that 12 million but I think a goal for

Them this year is try to find a veteran Center to teach these guys like you you need legitimate veterans to help these players learn how to win because they don’t know like they’re talented but they just don’t know how to execute games they don’t know how to close games

Like they need real veterans to help them understand the game of basketball at the end of the [Applause] [Applause] Day Yeah

This week on Pistons Talk Podcast, Anthony was joined by Jeff Iafrate the topic of discussion of why the Detroit Pistons have been struggling this season

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