What can the Pistons draw on from their big season-opening win at Atlanta? That and a whole lot more in the latest edition of Pistons Mailbag.
Al (Wolverine Lake, Mich.): Great win to start the season in Atlanta. What can the Pistons take away from that to apply to the next 81 games?
Langlois: Every game takes on a life of its own, Al, but I think the one thing that the Pistons can take from it and count on is the toughness, determination and competitive edge they displayed. It would have been easy to crack in the opener with shots not falling, a sellout crowd exhorting the home team and a veteran bunch that won 60 games last season and knows how to come back on the other side. But the Pistons kept hustling down loose balls and playing solid defense and showing the mental fortitude common to winning teams. I think that’s something you can bank on as long as they stay vigilant about sticking together and doing the daily dirty work – cultivating the habits necessary to building and maintaining a winning environment. They’re going to have to rely on those principles to help them gut it out in tonight’s home opener. That won’t be easy, putting a rousing opening win behind them and playing a team – Utah – that will be jacked up for its season opener, not to mention rested and relishing the opportunity to play spoiler just as the Pistons did in Atlanta.
Suffering Sports Fan (@PistonsUpNorth): What do you expect from Stanley Johnson in his rookie year? Will he get meaningful minutes? Dark horse Rookie of the Year candidate?
Langlois: Let’s answer them in order of difficulty, easiest to toughest: Will he get meaningful minutes? Yes, tons of them. Whether he winds up starting or not, I’d wager he’ll finish in the top five in minutes per game by season’s end. Dark horse ROY candidate? I think you can delete “dark horse” and the answer would still be yes. I wouldn’t list him as the favorite – Jahlil Okafor is going to get the chance to put up big numbers for Philly and Emmanuel Mudiay is going to have the ball in his hands a bunch for Denver, so they’d be my favorites – but he’s got to be top five. What do I expect from him? That’s a little tougher, at least in terms of guessing at numbers. He’s already won Stan Van Gundy’s confidence, though, and that’s a huge step for a rookie. If Van Gundy starts using him at the end of games, you’ll know that he’s in line for a major role. I also expect that he’s the kind of young player who’s going to show marked improvement. It might not always be linear, but he’ll be a better player by January than he is today and better still by April.
Bob (Reno, Nev.): How long does Van Gundy have to produce a winner in Detroit? He surely has rolled the dice, giving up on both Smith and Monroe and getting nothing in return. Smith went to Houston and helped make that team better and Monroe has been looking like an All-Star this preseason in Milwaukee. And giving all that money to Jackson for a career half-season. I am a Pistons fan and hope for the best, but we need to see wins. Will it be this year or next?
Langlois: This year or next? I think the idea is to build something sustainable. Contracts now can run no longer than five years, so “sustainable” doesn’t mean what it might have a generation ago, Bob. But the Pistons have Reggie Jackson for five years and have three other players they view as long-term pieces – Andre Drummond, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Stanley Johnson – on rookie contracts with the ability to hold on to them for the term of Jackson’s contract. They’ll also have more than $20 million in cap space next off-season to augment that young core, all of them 25 or under and all but Jackson 22 or under. As for Smith and Monroe, it’s certainly not accurate to lump them together and accuse Van Gundy of “giving up” on Monroe; he was a free agent who rejected a long-term contract offer in summer 2014 and chose to negotiate with other teams exclusively in July 2015. Van Gundy went out of his way to not assign blame for the team’s 5-23 start on Smith when the Pistons waived him in December 2014, but it’s undeniable that Smith’s value to any team was far less than the $13 million annually he was due to receive this season and next from the Pistons. That should be made evident by the fact he wound up signing for the veteran’s minimum with the Clippers this off-season. As for your query about Van Gundy’s leeway, that’s a question only Pistons owner Tom Gores can answer, but it’s certainly fair to speculate – based on everything Gores has said publicly and backed up with his financial commitment to Van Gundy’s expanded staffing of the front office – that they’re firmly in lockstep 17 months into their partnership.
KL (@KLSp5o4rtS): At season’s end, which Pistons player could be in the Most Improved Player conversation?
Langlois: Marcus Morris has a shot given that he’s earned the most significant role of his career to start the season. His 18 points and 10 rebounds in the opener is a nice start. He started 35 games, a career high, for Phoenix last year and averaged 10.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in 25 minutes a game. He could see his minutes jump to closer to 30 this season – it depends how deep into his bench Stan Van Gundy goes – and the Pistons are going to give him more isolation and post-up chances than he’s had before. The other contender could be Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who led the Pistons with 21 points on the road, where he struggled inexplicably last season. His defense will keep him on the floor and that should give his improved confidence in his ballhandling and pull-up jump shot the opportunities to see his scoring average and efficiency go up.
Atiba (Beaver Creek, Ohio): So much talk about Stanley Johnson starting at small forward over Marcus Morris. Am I the only one who thinks Reggie Bullock should get the job? I know it was just the preseason, but he did extremely well with the scarce minutes he played each game. He’s a better defender than Morris or Johnson and he looks like the most accurate 3-point shooter on the team. I really hope SVG is strongly considering him for it.
Langlois: Bullock has been impressive, Atiba, no question. But let’s keep in mind that he’s been impressive in a limited role. His minutes have been more than “scarce” – your word – as he averaged nearly 20 minutes over his six preseason appearances, but that’s a little different than 30-plus minutes a game in the regular season. There’s a lot to like with Bullock, including his 3-point stroke, his defense and – maybe most eye catching of all, given the fact he has played very little over his first two NBA seasons – the poise he exhibits, playing virtually error-free basketball so far. Also arguing against him starting at small forward: his frame. Van Gundy believes he can play both wing positions, shooting guard and small forward, but that he’s best suited to shooting guard. I concur. He’s listed at 205 pounds. Look at the other small forwards he’d be lining up against in the East: LeBron James (listed at 240, likely 260-plus), Jimmy Butler(220), Carmelo Anthony (230) and Tobias Harris (235) among them. If he establishes himself as a starter, he’ll likely be much better suited to shooting guard. Coming off the bench, he can probably get away with adequately guarding backup small forwards who aren’t as gifted as scorers and usually not as big, either.
Mark (Sydney, Australia): Is the Marcus Morris move the NBA’s most underrated transaction of the off-season? The Pistons gave up next to nothing for him and Bullock. I like the versatility he brings with a mid-post game and perimeter scoring.
Langlois: It was pretty much a deal with no downside for the Pistons, Mark. The contract Morris brings with him makes him a very economical rotation player, never mind a starter, and it’s going to become increasingly cost effective when the salary cap spikes up over the next few seasons. Getting Reggie Bullock looks like a very nice bonus so far. Stan Van Gundy likes Morris for the things he brings that the Pistons have lacked, including a mid-range game, the ability to play an isolation game with him, the ability to post up at small forward and the toughness and edge he provides. Morris has thirsted for the responsibility Van Gundy has given him; now it’s up to him to run with it.
Micca (@thewhatsisname): Do you see Bullock supplanting Meeks as the first two off the bench sooner rather than later? Or at all?
Langlois: An interesting topic and something to monitor, Micca. I think the ball is squarely in Meeks’ court on that one. It’s clear Van Gundy is going to give him latitude to find his game. He truly believes that if Meeks is at the top of his game, he gives the Pistons an alpha scorer who can lead their second unit. Meeks’ ability to run the floor, launch triples in slight openings and – an underrated skill – put the ball on the floor and get to the foul line are valuable assets. But if Meeks blows hot and cold, Bullock has put himself in line to be a viable alternative. He offers more size and defensive potential and he was the team’s best 3-point shooter in preseason. There isn’t room for three shooting guards – not with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ticketed for 30-plus minutes a game given his defensive resume – unless Van Gundy finds ways to use two at a time for more than spot minutes. If Meeks and Bullock play well enough to force his hand, so much the better.
Ken (Baton Rouge, La.): I’m not seeing all this so-called potential for this year. Andre Drummond and Stanley Johnson need more help. We need to trade for Carmelo Anthony or Kevin Love or this season will look much like last year. At least bring in Markieff Morris. Stop depending on stopgap players like Jodie Meeks, Ersan Ilyasova, et al.
Langlois: What do you suppose Cleveland, built to win now, would want in exchange for Love? That’s not a phone call worth making. (Not to mention that Love, signed as a free agent this summer, isn’t eligible to be traded until December.) Phil Jackson surely would take calls if somebody wanted to talk about taking on the $100 million and four years left on Anthony’s deal, but … seriously? First of all, he’d start by asking for Andre Drummond – not expecting to help bolster Drummond’s supporting cast in Detroit – and is that really a route you’d choose to take for the Pistons at this point, with Anthony at 31 and coming off a knee injury? Drummond’s decision to put off contract talks until next summer gives the Pistons a chance to significantly augment their roster next summer, whether that’s by signing a free agent or using their cap space to facilitate trades. If you consider all players below the level of All-Stars like Love and Anthony “stopgaps,” then maybe the moves they wind up making will leave you less than roused. Ultimately, the only thing that guarantees an enthused fan base is winning. That’s where Stan Van Gundy is interested in taking the Pistons and he’s got several young players with vast growth potential under his roof already. It might take a little more patience – not something a fan base that became accustomed to 50-win seasons and conference finals appearances wants to hear after six years of missing the playoffs – to see the payoff. But dealing young talent at this stage of their development for players who don’t fit the timeline of their current nucleus would be more likely to prolong their rebuilding.
Nicholas (Hudsonville, Mich.): If you were GM of the Pistons, would you have accepted Boston’s four first-round picks they were offering for the No. 8 spot in the draft?
Langlois: Depends on the stipulations placed on the picks, Nicholas. If they were all lottery protected, for instance, it becomes much less appealing. I don’t know if Boston made such an offer for the No. 8 pick. There are multiple reports saying it offered as many as six draft picks – four of them potential first-rounders, and possibly one of them without protection – to Charlotte for the No. 9 pick, so it’s reasonable to assume the Celtics would have offered a similar package for a slightly more valuable pick. Boston apparently coveted Justise Winslow, who was still available at nine and then was gone to Miami at 10. Stan Van Gundy said on draft night the team got one proposal that made him stand up and confer for a minute with general manager Jeff Bower and assistant GM Brian Wright. It wasn’t that package, though. It was a Western Conference team offering to swap first-rounders plus a player Van Gundy found intriguing. They talked, decided Stanley Johnson was better than the package offered and passed.