Isaiah Stewart, Frank Jackson, Hamidou Diallo and Cory Joseph are all topics on the table in this week’s edition of Pistons Mailbag.
@beeeef69/IG: Isaiah Stewart’s ceiling?
Langlois: After Stewart went for 18 points, 16 rebounds, three steals and three blocks in Monday’s win over Cleveland, Dwane Casey said – for the umpteenth time in the last three months – that Stewart was just “scratching the surface of what he’s going to be in this league.” Makes you wonder what he’ll be capable of in two years when he’s … 21! Pretty crazy to realize he’s this effective as a 19-year-old. Also crazy to think about the criticism the Pistons took for using the 16th pick on a center and see what Stewart is doing as a rookie. For all of his physical abilities, I’ll say this: Stewart is an incredibly intuitive player. So that bodes well for his capacity for improvement. And for as physically imposing as he is, we know that 19-year-olds usually aren’t as strong as 25- or 30-year olds, so the advantage he has in that area – and it’s considerable; go back and watch guys like Moses Brown and Jarrett Allen bounce off of him in the last few games – will only widen in years to come. I don’t know exactly what his ceiling is, to get directly to your question. I think we’ve seen that his floor is comfortably NBA rotation staple – and that’s likely underselling it. I’m tempted to say his floor is NBA starter, but he’s had six career starts. The signs are encouraging – coming back with 19 points and 12 rebounds on a back to back after a 21-rebound, 32-minute outing the night before last weekend – but it’s risky business to extrapolate much from six career starts. So, again, I can’t say what his ceiling is. But I wouldn’t rule out pretty much any positive outcome at this point, either.
Craig (Phnom Penh, Cambodia): Hamidou Diallo seems to have great potential. I assumed he would get major minutes – 27-plus – but that does not seem the case. Can you provide any insight on his Pistons future?
Langlois: Troy Weaver was part of the Oklahoma City front office that drafted Diallo in 2018 and is the general manager who traded for him this season. The things Weaver has said about Diallo can only be interpreted as his conviction in Diallo’s place in the Pistons future. He’s missed time recently with a minor knee injury. If he’s healthy over the final three-plus weeks of the season, Diallo is probably going to have as much of a role as anyone over that time. He came back Monday night and looked little out of sync, but his size and elite athleticism make him a very intriguing prospect. With most wings, you’d say the swing skill that would allow them to elevate from role player to something more is the 3-point shot. And, certainly, if Diallo becomes a more frequent 3-point shooter than the 1.5 per game he averages with the Pistons and can come anywhere close to maintaining his 47 percent hit rate, he’s going to be a star. But I think Diallo can be a solid starter even without becoming a plus 3-point threat. Diallo will be a restricted free agent this summer, assuming the Pistons extend a qualifying offer. That’s a foregone conclusion at this point. The Pistons traded for him understanding his pending status, so you can safely assume they plan to sign him to a multiyear deal this summer.
George (Madison, Wis.): Given the present roster, what areas of weakness might influence who the Pistons draft this summer?
Langlois: I truly don’t think roster is going to play a role in the 2021 Pistons draft decisions. If they were to get the top pick and believe, as the overwhelming consensus seems to have it, that Cade Cunningham is the best player, I don’t see any overlap. If Jalen Suggs is the pick, I think they’d relish the opportunity to pair him with Killian Hayes – two point guards with great size, one with elite athleticism and one with elite vision and passing skills – and let it play out. If Evan Mobley was their yield, well … keep reading. Long story short, I think Troy Weaver will feel completely unencumbered by the current roster and free to take the player he likes best.
Elishaisraelig/IG: How aggressive do you feel Troy Weaver will be in getting Mobley? He’s the perfect fit.
Langlois: If the Pistons wind up with the fifth or sixth pick, chances are that’s where they’d pick. It’s really costly to move up even two spots in that range of the draft. Dallas did it to get Luka Doncic a few years, going up two spots, and the cost was the fifth pick that Atlanta used to get Trae Young plus the following year’s (2019) first-rounder that was only protected through five picks. Would Weaver do something similar? I wouldn’t rule it out because when he believes in a player, he’s obviously not gun shy about making his move and exposing himself to criticism. If Weaver believes as you do – that Mobley’s not only the perfect fit but by a wide enough gap over whoever he thinks the alternative would be to toss in a lightly protected first-rounder – then all bets are off. Weaver is on record as saying he loves bigs and there’s a lot to lot with Mobley. But there’s a lot to like if you land at No. 4 in this draft, as well.
Shronkeykongwastaken/IG: Frank Jackson has been good lately. Do you think he is part of the future?
Langlois: I think he’s played himself into a place where the Pistons are going to think long and hard about keeping him as part of the mix. It’s tough to come off the bench and be able to score with any degree of consistency and Jackson has done that now for more than a month – and it’s especially hard to do that as a young player. Jackson, 22, went into the rotation coming out of the All-Star break, when the NBA lifted the restrictions on how many games players on two-way contracts could play. In 20 games since, Jackson is averaging 11.4 points in 20 minutes a game off the bench while shooting 48.1 percent overall and 42.4 percent from the 3-point line on 4.3 triples a game. Dwane Casey has called him one of his best defensive players more than once over the past few weeks, as well. Jackson has flourished here after struggling to gain any footing the past two years in New Orleans and being waived out of training camp this season by Oklahoma City, so his preference would be to stay in Detroit with a coach he knows believes in him. He��ll be a restricted free agent, so the Pistons have the ability to control the process to a degree. At this point, I’d be somewhat surprised if Jackson wasn’t back.
Pistons_eq_ manager/IG: Is your typing still as fast as before or are you still in your prime?
Langlois: My typing class teacher – I know; dating myself there – used to tell our class that if we could type 40 words a minute, we’d be guaranteed a government job. He knocked off five words per minute for every mistake you made, so instead of typing 100 words per minute I wound up doing 90 due to two mistakes. Tough grader. Anyway, I haven’t taken a typing test in a lot of years and working on a laptop where the backspace button erases your mistakes undermines the discipline that kept the missteps in check, but I still hold my own around a keyboard. Banging out transcription with a laptop on my lap while the bus driver is rounding corners on the way to the airport is my equivalent of trying to beat the shock clock in a tie game in the final minute.
Motorcity_derrick/IG: What skill set does a player have to have for the Pistons to draft him?
Langlois: Based on what we’ve seen from Troy Weaver’s draft choices and acquisitions so far, I’d say it starts with mindset, athleticism and length. If you can check those three boxes – engagement on both ends of the floor, mental and physical toughness, pass the run-jump-cut test and have a positive wingspan (exceeds your height) – that probably puts your foot in the door. My guess is Weaver is willing to make some exceptions once his roster is at a point where he’s comfortable doing so. If the Pistons are at the point where they’re a playoff contender but have a clear need for a 3-point shooter, maybe one who comes up a little short on the athletic profile would pass muster.
Darrell (Detroit): Cory Joseph is a good player. What are the chances the Pistons release Joseph this summer, then re-sign him at a lower salary? A seasoned point guard is necessary as a backup.
Langlois: Trading Delon Wright and his $8.5 million salary for 2021-22 for two second-round picks and Cory Joseph with only $2.4 million of his 2021-22 salary of $12.6 million guaranteed accomplished two objectives for the Pistons: restored some of the future draft capital they’d expended in other trades and created about $6 million in cap space for the off-season. I think two things are true: The Pistons are unlikely to pick up Joseph’s fully guaranteed contract but would be interested in a reunion with him. The Pistons have Killian Hayes and Saben Lee who will almost certainly be back to occupy two spots on the depth chart at point guard. They’ve got Dennis Smith Jr. as a potential restricted free agent if they were to extend him a qualifying offer. The Pistons will surely have at least one other point guard on the roster and I wouldn’t be surprised if they carry four. It’s conceivable they’ll use their lottery pick on a point guard. Even that wouldn’t preclude them adding a veteran to the mix. Joseph will have other suitors. He’s still an effective player. I don’t think he’s to the point where he’d have to wait around for a veteran minimum contract, but you never know how free agency unfolds. If the Pistons wind up operating as a team with cap space, the likelihood, they’d have a room exception available to them to fill out the roster after making their bigger moves. Joseph is one to watch.