The recent NBA trade deadline did not feature any shocking news but the Detroit Pistons quietly built a contender.
Perhaps it would be premature to consider them challenging the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they have built a young core for the next few years.
According to ESPN NBA Insider David Thorpe, team GM and also head coach Stan Van Gundy made the team younger with the two players he acquired.
"I really like what Detroit can look like moving forward. Stan Van Gundy is great at getting more from guys, and both Tobias Harris and Donatas Motiejunas have significant upside still to be reached," Thorpe stated. "Now the Pistons have some real talent to play around Andre Drummond, who will benefit from that as much as they will from him."
They were able to convert one of their excess assets, point guard Brandon Jennings, to fill a position that they really needed. While they did sacrifice a first round pick (protected but likely to convey), they are already young and talented enough, as SI pointed out.
"Harris is an even more explosive scoring option to stretch the floor, and pairing his porous defense with a rim protector like Drummond should mitigate some of the shortcomings," SI's Andrew Sharp wrote. "Meanwhile, if Motiejunas can get healthy and the Pistons can re-sign him this summer, he's overqualified to fill in at either front court spot off the bench."
Van Gundy accepted that their team would probably not compete with big name free agents so he set realistic goals and got players that he will actually use. Other teams will shoot for the moon, but many of them end up with nothing or sign players that do not match their team.
The Detroit Pistons did not shock the world at the deadline, but we should not be surprised if we see them deep in the playoffs in the next few seasons.
