6 Bold Predictions For The Detroit Pistons In 2019-20

Call them hot takes, call them bold predictions, this is the last minute for these necessarily specific forecasts as the Detroit Pistons get set to start their season on Wednesday night in Indianapolis.

The Pistons have some things to prove this season, and they may be hard-pressed to do so in the end. They’re coming off a playoff appearance, they unarguably improved their depth this summer, and yet almost every credible win total forecast has them losing more games this season than last.

We’ll take a look at six bold predictions for the Pistons in their coming campaign. Some of these will foretell some enjoyable basketball in the future, and because we’re talking about the Detroit Pistons, several of them will not.

Andre Drummond Will Have A Monster Season

It goes without saying that Andre Drummond views this as a contract season. Whether he chooses to opt out of his player option next summer or not, at worst this should be considered a mulligan season. If Drummond has a poor season this year, he can get one more crack at it next, but he’s certain to try to position himself to be able to go for max money with a great year.

This motivation in combination with the fact that for the last several seasons Drummond has added dimension to his game year over year (last year his defense took a leap, the season before that his passing became near-elite, the year before that his free throw shooting went from worst in NBA history to positively mediocre) leads us to a fairly predictable forecast: Andre Drummond is going to pull out all the stops in 2019-20 and have a career year.

A Trade Is Coming

There are more potential paths the Pistons could take this season that involve at least one major trade than don’t. If Drummond has a great start to the season but the Pistons are well under .500 near the trade deadline, it’s highly likely they may opt to trade him rather than risk losing him for nothing in the summer.

If Blake Griffin gets hurt, the Pistons are sure to be a losing team and there will be no reason for anybody on the roster to be untouchable. If the Pistons can find suitors for Thon Maker, Langston Galloway or Reggie Jackson who will not fleece them in return, any or all of them are as good as gone.

In fact, the only reasonable path for no major trade to take place would be for the entire roster to remain healthy (a highly unlikely outcome given the makeup of the roster) and to at least meet optimistic expectations, if not rise well above them.

Even in this situation, the Pistons would need to decide they’re willing to lose this entire group for nothing in the summer, which leads us to the strong possibility they would still look to flip a contributor on an overachieving team and sell high.

Speaking of injury luck...

Good Injury Luck Won’t Hold Two Years In A Row

The Detroit Pistons almost got a full season out of Blake Griffin last season, a feat which may be difficult to replicate. They did get a full 82 games out of Reggie Jackson, a feat which is highly unlikely to be replicated. They added Derrick Rose this summer, who will play a vital role, but is also one of the least-reliable players in the NBA from a health and availability perspective.

This team needs all three of these players to shoulder a heavy load. Missing one would be problematic. Missing two would be difficult to overcome. Missing all three would be catastrophic.

As seen by the fact that Griffin will miss at least the first few games of the new season, injury luck is not something that can be captured in a bottle. They’re already behind the eight-ball on this one.

Luke Kennard Will Get A Bump Up In The Pecking Order

Whether it be through injury or trade, Luke Kennard will get a bump in the rotation and offensive responsibility this season. There is little chance the guard rotation in front and behind him will remain intact for all of 2019-20, so by attrition and default his opportunities will increase.

He should have the opportunity to get off to a hot start with Griffin out to start the season. Historically, they don’t mesh well, and Kennard is better when Griffin is off the floor.

As the season goes on and Griffin returns, his role can only expand as long as he does not fumble his opportunity.

40 Wins Could Be Tough To Come By

There’s no shame in being a sub-.500 team without your best player, but the longer the Pistons are without Griffin the deeper their hole will be dug. There is greater depth on this team than last season, but they only got to last year’s 41-41 record on the strength of a Herculean effort from Griffin on a heavy offensive load.

As illustrated by the dim view sports books and win projections have had of the Detroit Pistons this summer, he’s unlikely to be able to replicate that volume and high efficiency, all while playing nearly a full season once again.

He’s likely to get more rest this season than last, and aside from that he will probably miss as many games by the time he plays his first game as he did all of last year. This is simply not a team that can reliably make up for that loss of firepower, barring massive development or exceptional performance from players on the roster like Kennard.

Bruce Brown Will Have Himself A Season

In a perfect world, Bruce Brown’s role would likely be something other than starting two-guard. However, it’s a baptism by fire that may pay dividends sooner than later.

Already a pesky ball-hawk who is a terror on defense, he’s continued to show flashes of play-making ability. He may never be a decent shooter or scorer, but he’s learning to be effective with the ball in his hands. It’s possible this may help the Pistons feel at liberty to move a point guard with the intention of slotting him into that role.

At worst, Brown will continue to be a great stopper on defense, but there is some sneaky upside to his offensive game as well.