The Detroit Pistons were one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA this season. After a promising appearance in the playoffs last year, where they stayed competitive against the eventual champions despite being swept, many pegged Detroit as a team that would improve this year.
That was not the case as the Pistons finished the year at 37-45, four games out of the playoffs. Pistons head coach and president Stan Van Gundy has not been shy about ripping his team. At the conclusion of the season, he also guaranteed that some changes would be made, via Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
“It just hasn’t gone the way we would like. This has been a year of misery for me but I still want the challenge and want to keep going forward and I still feel confident we’re on the right track, our philosophy is right and we can get this turned back around in the direction that we want,” Van Gundy said. “It’s hard. It does mean you’re going to have to make some changes.
“You’re not going to see all 15 guys come back next year, but it’s also not going to be two guys.”
Obviously, every team makes changes from year to year but this seems more serious. The Pistons have lacked cohesion and a lot of their younger players have not really improved. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is a restricted free agent looking for a big pay raise. Additionally, Reggie Jackson seemed to not have a spot on the team after his return from injury as he was inactive for the Pistons’ last eight games, officially due to a knee injury.
If I were to make a guess, I would say that the Pistons will do everything possible to move Jackson. Whether they will find a partner is another question, but it certainly seems as though they are open to any change.
