THE NUMBERS

SEASON IN REVIEW: Leuer, like at least a few of his teammates, saw his numbers tail off after the All-Star break. His pre-break numbers were 11.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 27 minutes a game and shot .325 from the 3-point line. After the break, those numbers declined to 8.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 23.5 minutes and his 3-point shooting plummeted to .205. A January injury in which Leuer took a knee to the thigh muscle, just above his knee, caused fluid to drain into his knee and caused him to miss five games. After averaging 11.4 points and 6.3 rebounds on 50.8 overall shooting before the injury, Leuer’s play tailed off after his return.

EXPANDED ROLE: Was it the knee/thigh injury that triggered Leuer’s tailspin or was it something else? Stan Van Gundy believes Leuer felt the effects of playing consistent and heavy minutes for the first time in his six-year NBA career. By the All-Star break, Leuer had already exceeded his previous career high in minutes played and wound up exceeding his previous best (1,255 in 2015-16 with Phoenix) by nearly 700 minutes. Leuer was inserted into the starting lineup in December, prompted by Van Gundy’s desire to put a bigger and more sound defensive unit on the floor to start games, and stayed there until March, winding up drawing 34 starts.

FRONTCOURT VERSATILITY: The Pistons targeted Leuer as their first priority at power forward – after they made a run at perhaps the best big man on the free-agent market, Al Horford – after having the need for a bigger defender made clear to them when Kevin Love put up big numbers in their first-round 2016 playoff series. With Aron Baynes likely to opt out of his contract and become a free agent – and someone the Pistons won’t have the wherewithal to sign under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement – Leuer also could be part of the solution behind Andre Drummond at center next season. Boban Marjanovic’s strong finish to the season carves out a likely role for him, but there will be matchups against the NBA’s increasing number of range-shooting backup big men where Leuer is the better option.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Leuer has three years remaining on the reported $41 million free-agent contract he signed with the Pistons in July 2016. Next season will be big for Leuer to test Van Gundy’s theory that this was a season of adjustment for him as he became a rotation regular – and even a starter for nearly half a season – for the first time and absorbed a much heavier workload. For Leuer to thrive in whatever role he earns next season – a continuation of his 2016-17 role as a primary power forward or a hybrid role where he spends considerable time as the second unit center, as well – it will be important for him to bring his 3-point accuracy closer to his Phoenix levels.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “We just thought he was a guy that if he got minutes every night could be really, really productive and I still think there’s a lot there that hasn’t been tapped yet. We’re trying to get him to be more aggressive offensively. I think there’s even more there than what we’ve seen. I think he can go beyond what he’s doing now.” Stan Van Gundy in December with Leuer off to a strong start.

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Season in Review | Jon Leuer

SEASON IN REVIEW: Signed as a free agent in July 2016 to back up Jackson, Smith was thrust into the starter’s role to open the season when Jackson was diagnosed with left knee tendinosis early in training camp and was shut down for nearly two months. In 21 games, the Pistons went 11-10 as Smith averaged 10.8 points and 6.4 assists against a mere 1.5 turnovers in nearly 30 minutes a game. When Jackson sat out the season’s final nine games, Smith closed even more forcefully, averaging 17.1 points and 6.4 assists while shooting 46 percent in 31 minutes a game.

ALMOST ALL 82: Smith sat out one game this season but it wasn’t due to injury. It came in mid-January with the Pistons amid their worst stretch of the season, a 4-11 mark over 15 games in which their defense cratered, largely as a result of aberrant 3-point shooting: 45 percent from their opponents over that time. Stan Van Gundy decided Smith averaged just 5.1 points and 3.1 assists over his previous 14 games and shot just 37 percent. “We wanted to give Ish a little bit of a break. He’s been struggling, been a little frustrated, thought maybe sitting for a night would help a little bit,” Van Gundy said. Late in the season, Van Gundy lamented that decision to prevent Smith from joining Tobias Harris as the only Pistons player to play in all 82 games.

ONE POINT SHY: It was arguably the best win of the season for the Pistons, a 121-114 victory at Boston on Nov. 30 just before Jackson’s return. In that game, Smith scored 19 points – and the other four Pistons starters all scored 20 or more. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 25 to lead the Pistons, Tobias Harris added 21 and Marcus Morris and Andre Drummond scored 20 apiece. Smith, with 18 points, was fouled with 14.8 seconds left and the Pistons leading by four points. If Smith had made both shots, the Pistons would have had accomplished something rarely done in the NBA with all five starters in double figures. Smith made one of two to fall one point shy of a unique team milestone.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Smith has two years remaining on a reported three-year, $18 million deal agreed to with the Pistons last summer hours after free agency opened. In today’s NBA with the salary spike of the past two summers due to inflated salary caps on an influx of TV revenue, he proved a decided bargain. If Jackson returns to form next season, as the Pistons fully expect, Smith’s minutes probably will tick down. But Smith’s ability to create transition scoring chances and his pace-pushing style, consistent with Van Gundy’s wishes for his second-unit point guard, will make him a fixture in the rotation for the foreseeable future. Van Gundy is likely to tinker with two-point guard lineups to make better use of Smith’s strengths and to reduce some of the load on Jackson to create offense.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “Ish has been great. He was great in the beginning of the year as a starter the first 21 games and he’s been great in this role. The great thing with Ish is he’s ready when we need him to play bigger minutes and finish games and he’s a great team guy when he doesn’t get those opportunities. We couldn’t ask much more out of Ish. He’s had a terrific year for us.” – Stan Van Gundy in a late March visit to Brooklyn on Smith’s play

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Season in Review | Ish Smith

SEASON IN REVIEW: Johnson struggled from the first week of training camp and through the preseason and it spilled over into the regular season. By mid-November, Johnson was skipped in the rotation in favor of fellow second-year player Darrun Hilliard. It didn’t last long because Hilliard – hampered by being idled for two months last summer with a back injury – also struggled. Johnson gradually picked it up and played better in January and February, shooting .435 overall and .375 from the 3-point line and continuing to show signs of becoming an elite defender. Over the season’s final 21 games, though, Johnson’s offense collapsed as he shot just .276 overall and .246 from the 3-point line.

SHAPING HIS BODY: Johnson is a unique player with the build of an oversized NFL outside linebacker at 6-foot-7 and … well, his weight was probably somewhere in the 245-plus range when the season started and that was part of the problem. While Johnson still looked very much like an elite athlete, he was a little too bulky to fill the role the Pistons expected of him as a defensive force guarding NBA small forwards and shooting guards. Johnson lost a significant amount of weight, more than 15 pounds, and that coincided with his noticeably improved play in January and February. He remarked that he didn’t feel slower at the heavier weight, but noticed a difference in his movement when he watched himself on videotape. Johnson came to the NBA with a man’s body at an age where it’s reasonable to expect there is more physical maturity ahead of him. How that evolution takes place could dictate his NBA future.

FINDING A HOME: The Pistons have already seen the evidence of Johnson’s ability to affect games at the defensive end, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to carve a niche in the NBA without commanding attention at the other end, too. One weak link – in an age where spacing the floor, knocking down 3-point shots and creating driving lanes is essential – can drag down an entire offense. Stan Van Gundy believes Johnson must first become a consistent impact defender – keep reading – and when that happens his offensive identity will begin to emerge. But he admits he’s not sure if Johnson’s future is as a big shooting guard, a quicker small forward or an undersized power forward. He’s used Chicago’s Jimmy Butler and Boston’s Jae Crowder as examples of players who established themselves at the defensive end and then flowered as all-around players.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Johnson still has two years left on his rookie contract after the Pistons made him the No. 8 pick in the 2015 draft following Johnson’s freshman season at Arizona. He doesn’t turn 21 until the end of the month. Pistons staffers and coaches remain sold on Johnson’s makeup, toughness and competitiveness. Year three could be a critical crossroads year for him in defining his NBA future.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “He needs to base his game and build his game around being an elite defender in this league. I do think he takes pride in it. He’s got to get better as a team defender, but he needs to be a guy that can impact the game on the defensive end of the floor first and foremost. He’s got to lock in to that. Second thing is his offensive skills have got to improve. … I look at Stanley as a guy who should be a very versatile defender. I think he’s capable of guarding three positions in this league. Love him in that regard.” – Stan Van Gundy

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Season in Review | Stanley Johnson

SEASON IN REVIEW: Got off to a slow start, scoring just nine points total in the season’s first two games, but soon turned it around and continued his four-year career ascent.  Caldwell-Pope played in 76 games, missing five due to injury and one when he sat out a late-season game as Stan Van Gundy cleared playing time for others. Four of his missed games came when he sustained an injured shoulder upon running into a screen in a January loss at Golden State. Suffered a shooting slump late in the season, hitting .372 from the 3-point arc in his 52 games played before the All-Star break but .306 in 24 games after the break.

MR. CLUTCH: If it seemed like Caldwell-Pope made a lot of big 3-point shots, it wasn’t your imagination. The NBA tracks clutch 3-point shots made, defined by time and score margin, and Caldwell-Pope ranked among the top five in the league. Among his most memorable 3-pointers were two that came in the last 1:34 of the second overtime in a Jan. 8 win at Portland. After the Pistons fell five points behind, Caldwell-Pope scored the game’s last six points on a pair of triples. He scored nine of their 11 points in the second overtime, going 3 for 3 from the 3-point arc. On a night Caldwell-Pope hit just 2 of 12 from the 3-point line in a 102-101 win at Toronto on Feb. 12 – the Pistons trailed by 16 after three quarters, making it the greatest comeback after three quarters in a win since the franchise moved to Detroit in 1957 – he hit the game winner with 13.2 seconds left. When the Pistons came from 15 points down after three quarters to win in overtime over Charlotte on Feb. 23, Caldwell-Pope hit 3 of 5 triples and scored 11 points in the fourth quarter – including the shot to force overtime with 18 seconds left – then added seven overtime points and hit his only triple attempt in OT as the Pistons won 114-108.

LATE ARRIVAL: Like father, like son. Caldwell-Pope’s son – Kentavious Jr. – was late coming on April 5 and, because of that, Dad arrived late for that night’s Pistons game vs. Toronto at The Palace. Labor was induced for Caldwell-Pope’s wife, McKenzie, the afternoon of April 4, but Kentavious Jr. wasn’t about to be rushed. He ultimately was born at 7:24 p.m. the next day. With both grandmothers in attendance and Mom doing well, Caldwell-Pope got permission to go to work. He arrived at The Palace a little before halftime, quickly threw on his uniform and was in the lineup to start the second half.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Caldwell-Pope becomes a restricted free agent on July 1. There are three ways it could go: Caldwell-Pope and the Pistons come to a contract agreement; Caldwell-Pope signs an offer sheet with another franchise, giving the Pistons 72 hours to match the offer; Caldwell-Pope signs neither with the Pistons nor an offer sheet, instead signing his tender offer that commits him to the Pistons for the 2017-18 season but makes him an unrestricted free agent in July 2018. Greg Monroe was a notable exception to the rule by choosing the latter option in 2016 and then playing out his contract with the Pistons.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “We think KCP is a very, very good young player who’s been an important part of our core. He’s 24 years old, still on the upside. I thought through the All-Star break, he really had made some big gains in the way he played. A guy we really, really like.” – Stan Van Gundy, after the season

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Season in Review | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

SEASON REVIEW: Morris got off to a strong start, leveled off and then went into a mid-season lull. Over a month that began in mid-December, Morris averaged just 10.9 points and 3.6 rebounds as a shooting slump – he shot .327 overall and .242 from the 3-point arc – seemed to spill over to other areas of his play. Morris rebounded with a strong six-week stretch that saw him average 17.4 points and 6.6 rebounds on strong shooting: .457 overall and .366 from the 3-point arc. It’s no coincidence that the Pistons went 4-11 during Morris’ month-long struggles that began in mid-December and 11-7 over the six-week stretch surrounding the All-Star break that began with a mid-January road win against the Los Angeles Lakers.

LOCKER-ROOM LEADER: An area of concern for the Pistons entering 2016-17 after snapping a six-year playoff drought the previous season was replacing the veteran voices lost to free agency in Anthony Tolliver, Joel Anthony and Steve Blake – the only 30-and-over players on the roster. Stan Van Gundy felt Morris exuded strong leadership qualities, not for his vocal exhortations so much as his selflessness, accountability and palpable investment in winning. In early March, with the Pistons fighting for a playoff berth, Van Gundy went to Morris and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to request they use their voices a little more among teammates.

CAREER HIGH: Morris ended February with a memorable performance in an overtime win over Portland at The Palace, scoring a career-high 37 points and showing off his all-around game in the process. He hit 13 of 23 shots and scored both inside and out – shooting 3 of 7 from the 3-point arc but going inside often enough to wind up 8 of 9 at the free-throw line. Morris topped it off with eight rebounds and six assists, as well.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Morris has two years left on a contract that he carried with him to the Pistons from Phoenix that qualifies as team friendly in the extreme in today’s market. He’ll earn a reported $10.375 million total through the 2018-19 season and will be No. 9 in salary among current Pistons if no one is traded and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is retained as a restricted free agent. Morris played almost exclusively at small forward for the Pistons in 2016-17 with the free-agent signing of Jon Leuer, but he is capable of playing power forward should off-season roster moves shuffle the deck.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “It was ugly. Sometimes, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. (Teammates had) probably never seen me like that. I felt like we responded really, really, really well. They took it the way I hoped they would take it. I didn’t talk down to anybody. I was just trying to motivate and get us right. These people deserve us playing hard. They deserve to see us come out and compete every night. … When you put your cards on the table like that, I have to respond a certain way. So I took a lot of responsibility on myself and my team. They responded exactly like I thought they would.” – Marcus Morris after his tirade during a timeout in the first quarter of a March 9 win over Cleveland when the Pistons trailed 27-12.

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Season in Review | Marcus Morris

SEASON IN REVIEW: When Stan Van Gundy convened training camp for the Pistons in late September – after three weeks of voluntary workouts that featured frequent full-court scrimmaging – his speech on the eve of the first practice included the mantra: “Why not us?” The Pistons, coming off a playoff berth and four down-to-the-wire losses to Cleveland, felt the East was wide open if they played to their peak. Jackson’s early-camp performances only fueled their optimism. He was that dominant, that dynamic on the pick and roll and in penetration. But before the first week was up, the pain in his left knee – in which he felt some nagging pain late in the summer and into September’s voluntary workouts – intensified. Though he showed bursts of peak Jackson – most promisingly, dominant fourth quarters in early-March wins over Chicago and Cleveland – he never fully shook off the effects of the injury.

RIPPLE EFFECTS: The impact of Jackson’s injury on his dominant skill – the ability to get into the paint and cause havoc for opposing defenses – is perhaps best reflected in his diminished free-throw attempts. Jackson’s free-throw attempts per game declined from a career-best 4.3 in 2015-16 to just 2.6 in 2016-17. What the absence of the threat of his penetration meant for the rest of the team isn’t quite as easy to quantify, but the decline in 3-point attempts – the Pistons went from 10th in the NBA in 2015-16 (26.2) to 26th (23.4) this season – gives a broad clue. And the decline in 3-point accuracy (.345 to .330) is likely related, as well. The Pistons went from 15th in offensive rating a season ago to 25th, driven mostly by their inferior 3-point attack – lack of both attempts and accuracy.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING: Jackson returned in early December and the timing of that return was awkward as the Pistons were coming off their best three-game sequence of the season: a 3-0 road trip to 2016 playoff teams Charlotte, Boston and Atlanta in which they averaged 118 points and shot 49 percent from the 3-point arc. The Pistons lost Jackson’s debut – a home game against the lottery-bound Orlando Magic – and would go 4-11 over a 15-game stretch that started in mid-December. Defense – a season-long strength of the Pistons – was the major culprit as opponents shot 45 percent from the 3-point arc over that time period. Nevertheless, the coincidence of Jackson’s return and the slump weighed on him and added another layer of complexity to the dynamics of his reintegration to the lineup.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Jackson has three years remaining on the contract he signed in July 2015 after the Pistons acquired him from Oklahoma City at the February trade deadline that year ahead of his restricted free agency. Van Gundy is certain Jackson will be back as good as new – in fact, better than ever as he benefits from the lessons taught by adversity this season. Van Gundy was especially heartened by Jackson’s performance in the final practice of the Pistons regular season as they prepared to play Houston with Jackson – sidelined for the season’s final nine games by Van Gundy’s decision – playing the scout-team role of James Harden. “He was unbelievable,” Van Gundy said. “Guys were loving playing with him. Everything was to the rim and throwing it out for threes, but really focused on just attack-attack-attack and make plays. To a man, everybody on our coaching staff came out of that practice saying, ‘Wow.’ ”

QUOTE TO NOTE: “I haven’t been great this season, necessarily, by the way I measure myself. But without pain, there wouldn’t be joy. I truly believe there’s light at the end of the tunnel and I see it. With everything I’ve gone through so far this season, will all be worth it and will make everything that much more joyful.” – Reggie Jackson on March 28, the day after Van Gundy made Jackson inactive, which he would remain for the rest of the season

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Season in Review | Reggie Jackson

SEASON IN REVIEW: Harris began the season solidly entrenched as a starter and stayed there for the first 32 games. Stan Van Gundy moved Harris to the bench in late December not out of any concern or dissatisfaction with his performance as a starter but as a means to inject more size into the starting lineup in 6-foot-10 Jon Leuer. Harris re-entered the starting lineup in March, but Van Gundy again moved him to the bench to finish the season as a response to Reggie Jackson getting shut down and the second unit needing Harris’ scoring punch as a result of losing Ish Smith and his ability to create transition scoring chances.

BEHIND THE NUMBERS: Harris’ combination of athleticism and offensive skills make him the Pistons’ most versatile scorer other than a healthy Jackson and, at 24 – despite the fact he now has six full NBA seasons on his resume – the expectation is that Harris still has room to grow. His 3-point shooting dipped – a team-wide plague – from .375 after joining the Pistons in February 2016 to .347 in 2016-17. Harris split his time between power forward and small forward. Tradeoffs at each position for him, with more mismatches at both ends resulting when he plays power forward – often against bigger players.

ALL 82: Harris was the only player on the roster to play all 82 games for the Pistons this season. Two others (Drummond, Smith) missed a game apiece. Over the season’s final four games, as Van Gundy juggled his rotation to create playing time for others, he kept Harris in the group so he could complete the full 82-game schedule.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Harris is under contract through the 2018-19 season. The expectation is that whatever role Van Gundy decides best fits Harris and provides the greatest benefit to the team next season – starting or coming off the bench – Harris will continue to get starter’s minutes and command a big chunk of Van Gundy’s playbook. The Pistons could be active on the trade front this summer as Van Gundy looks to improve the team’s perimeter shooting. How much more responsibility Van Gundy believes the team’s two youngest players – Stanley Jonson and Henry Ellenson – are ready to shoulder at the forward spots could influence how willing he is to trade someone like Harris as he attempts to improve the team’s perimeter shooting.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “Tobias is a good man. He’s only 24; he seems older. He’s a mature man that you can have honest conversations with and he’ll evaluate what you’re saying. There’s not a lot of excuses. If you say something, he’s the kind of guy who’s going to think about it. May not always agree with you, but going to think about it and look in the mirror and try to get better. I appreciate that and I thought his character showed in his play.” – Stan Van Gundy after taking Harris out of the starting lineup for the Dec. 23 game against Golden State

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Season in Review | Tobias Harris

SEASON IN REVIEW: A year after making his first All-Star game appearance, Drummond saw his numbers tick down slightly in scoring (16.2 to 13.6), rebounding (a league-leading 14.8 to 13.8) and blocked shots (1.4 to 1.1, a career low). He also played about three fewer minutes per game. Drummond finished a close second to Miami’s Hassan Whiteside (14.1) among rebounding leaders.

BEHIND THE NUMBERS: Stan Van Gundy felt Drummond made progress this season with his defense away from the basket, especially against the pick-and-roll plays that dominate NBA offenses. Drummond’s field-goal percentage also improved slightly despite doing more of his scoring further from the rim as he developed more range on his hook shot with either hand.

AVAILABLE ANDRE: An old bromide of NBA coaches is that “the best ability is availability.” In other words, they appreciate guys who aren’t always in the trainer’s room nursing nagging injuries. Drummond has been a marvel of durability over his five NBA seasons. Since missing 20 games with a lower-back injury as a rookie, Drummond has played in 81, 82, 81 and 81 games over the past four years, missing only two – one in 2013-14, one this season – due to injury. A twisted ankle caused Drummond to miss the Nov. 14 win over Oklahoma City.

WHAT’S AHEAD: The Pistons have Drummond under contract for the next three seasons. At 23, he remains among the NBA’s elite big men yet still has many areas of improvement ahead of him. His free-throw shooting showed improvement before the All-Star break, when he shot .439 after applying virtual-reality technology to his routine, but sunk to .266 in 25 games after the break. Getting a healthy Reggie Jackson back next season should give Drummond more opportunities for lob dunks and easy put-backs at the rim as Jackson’s penetration ability draws defenders away from Drummond.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “He needs to have a sense of urgency to elevate his game. He’s been in the league five years now. He’s still young; hasn’t turned 24. He’s got time. He’s a very talented guy and he’s been one of the elite rebounders in the league, but there’s more there. The sky’s the limit for him and we think he’s got a chance to be really, really good to great. But he needs to do some work to get there. He needs to improve. He needs to have a greater sense of urgency this summer to get where he needs to go.” – Stan Van Gundy