After an encouraging season, the Detroit Pistons were swept by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Where do the Pistons go from here? Can Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson lead them back to the Finals?
Our crew breaks down five big questions on how the Pistons progressed this season and where they are going. Is Motown basketball back? How has Stan Van Gundy acquitted himself in the dual role of coach and team president?
1. What do you foresee and advise for Stan Van Gundy and the Pistons this offseason?
Tom Haberstroh, ESPN Insider: Invest everything you can into solving Andre Drummond's free throw ills. Stan Van Gundy told me Drummond shoots 65 percent in practice, so this strikes me as a mental obstacle, not a physical one. Turning Drummond into an average free throw shooter, or at least a not-terrible one, could add more wins to the bottom line than any acquisition in their budget.
Amin Elhassan, ESPN Insider: Stay the course. They've built up nicely over the last two years by strategically going after under-the-radar free agents early and overpaying, and so I'd look to aggressively pursue shooting at all positions. Despite being in the top third in the league in 3-point makes and attempts, they ranked in the bottom third in 3-point percentage, and there's only so much bluffing an opposing defense will fall for.
Jeremias Engelmann, ESPN.com: The Pistons have a decent starting unit with no big holes, so I'd advise them to bolster their bench. Resigning Anthony Tolliver, who's quite cheap, makes sense and seems likely to happen. If they could sign a couple of veterans in the class of Nene or Zaza Pachulia, without overpaying, I would consider that a great offseason.
Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Insider: I give SVG credit for building a more cohesive and coherent roster. But a lot of resources have been expended to lock the team into the middle tier of league.
Because the key for the Pistons will be growth from within, the plan must be to feed that growth. Can they turn Stanley Johnson into a starting-caliber player, or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope into a high-impact shooting guard? Can Andre Drummond learn to make free throws?
Kevin Pelton, ESPN Insider: A quiet summer. The Pistons' starting lineup is set for now, and has shown it can be competitive in the postseason. The problem was Detroit got outscored by 18 points in the 33 minutes backup point guard Steve Blake played in the first three games. Whether it's using the first-round pick or the team's cap space (estimated at about $15 million), the Pistons need to upgrade that spot.
2. In a "pre-offseason" trade, the Pistons used their cap space to acquire Tobias Harris in February. Good move or not?
Haberstroh: Good move. Instead of going the Joe Dumars route and spending a Detroit premium in free agency, acquiring talent in trades is the smarter way to go. For a 23-year-old putting up an 18 PER in Detroit, his salary will look like a steal this summer in the league-wide cap boom.
Elhassan: Great move. Detroit's aforementioned free agency strategy is borne not out of cunning foresight, but necessity: Detroit isn't a destination free agents clamor to. As such, acquiring the 23-year-old Harris, a caliber of player they'd have no chance at getting in the open market, on a fixed salary for the next four years that actually declines in the last two years, was a master stroke, especially when considering what they gave up to get him.
Doolittle: Not a fan. I see Harris as a classic tweener. He can put up numbers, but it's not clear he has enough of a winning game overall. Kind of like Marcus Morris. At least one of them is going to have to really hone his deep stroke to make this work.
Engelmann: Harris is making a little too much at $16 million per season for the next three years, given his rather ordinary game. On the plus side, he doesn't turn the ball over and posted a slightly positive RPM this season, at 0.5, which was worth about six wins. And the Pistons certainly didn't give up much for him. So it was a decent move, not a great one.
Pelton: Good move. As Stan Van Gundy hoped, Harris surged after the trade, shooting 37.5 percent beyond the arc. Given the way the cap will jump this summer, Harris would likely have gotten more than the $16 million he's due over the next three seasons if he were a free agent.
3. Fact or Fiction: Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond are a championship-level foundation.
Haberstroh: Fiction. And that's perfectly fine. Drummond is a franchise pillar already, but Jackson hasn't even made an All-Star team yet. Worse starting point guards have won a title, but in the spirit of the question, I don't see Jackson being part of a title-winning duo unless he improves his passing and defense.
Elhassan: Fiction. While Drummond is a centerpiece, my feeling is that Jackson is less Mr. Right and more Mr. Right Now. In other words, he's good enough to move the program forward, but at some point the Pistons will need to upgrade their point guard position to a player with better decision making, more consistent shooting, and better defense.
Doolittle: Fiction. Given top-flight wings, Jackson could be the point guard of a title contender, though he'd have to submit to becoming a second or third option. Drummond is the real problem. He's really good, but if you can't use him in the fourth quarter of playoff games because of his FT shooting, how can he be a title-worthy foundation piece?
Engelmann: Fiction. Drummond and Jackson are above-average players, but they're not part of the NBA's elite. With Jackson being 25 years old, significant improvement seems unlikely. These two are a good foundation for a team that wants to make the playoffs, but certainly not championship-level material.
Pelton: Fiction. Look at the best players on championship teams in modern NBA history. They've generally been top-10 players, and I'm not sure Drummond will get to that point. Jackson has the potential to become an above-average No. 2 option, but is unlikely to end up better than Drummond.
4. Agree or disagree: Detroit's progress supports the idea of a coach-president.
Haberstroh: Strongly agree. Usually, the big worry when one person wears two hats is that the head coach wants to win today, not build for tomorrow. If anything, President Van Gundy has made it much harder for Coach Van Gundy by trading veterans for youth with the future in mind.
Elhassan: Strongly disagree. Has it worked out for them thus far? Yes, but it's still early in the process; after all, Doc Rivers' tenure started with acquiring J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley. What ends up happening almost inevitably is, as the pressure to win rises, compromises will be made to appease the short term, but at massive cost to the long term.
Doolittle: Somewhat agree. The Pistons have improved, and GM Jeff Bower is a front office professional who doesn't get enough credit. That's the key -- the day-to-day executive has to be able to handle the tasks of the GM while also have a boss in basketball operations who gets final say. As long as the coach has enough experience and sway in the league, I think it's a workable arrangement.
Engelmann: Somewhat disagree. They've made progress after winning only 29 games two seasons ago, but I'm not sure how much of that can be attributed to Van Gundy being both coach and president. The track record of teams with this setup is mixed, so I'm not ready to say I believe in this concept, given the inherent conflict in the two roles and the challenge of doing both well.
Pelton: Somewhat agree. Van Gundy has done a good job of working in concert with GM Jeff Bower and keeping an eye on Detroit's long-term future instead of simply trying to win as many games now as possible. Still, the Pistons have tended to overpay veteran reserves who haven't moved the needle, so my endorsement is qualified.
5. How many playoff series will Detroit win in the next three years?
Haberstroh: Two. Between the youth, the coaching and the lack of stiff competition in the East, I'm big on Detroit's future. With Drummond, Tobias Harris, Stanley Johnson and Reggie Jackson, this team is a couple of years away from hitting its prime, and they're already playoff bound. In Stan I trust.
Elhassan: Three or four. I can see them making the playoffs again next year and winning one series, making it again the year after that and winning one series, then perhaps making it to the conference finals in three years.
Doolittle: Three. Detroit's entire starting lineup should get better. Van Gundy is a terrific coach. Still, I suspect the Pistons are going to get stuck in a cycle of first-round wins and second-round defeats.
Engelmann: I think it's likely they'll make the playoffs in the next couple of seasons, but it's tough to envision them finishing in the top four in the East unless they make a big move. I would put the over/under at 1.5 series wins.
Pelton: I'd put the line at 1.5 series and take the over. In terms of age weighted by minutes played, the Pistons were the youngest East playoff team this postseason, and other teams ahead of them will have to re-sign core pieces. I can see Detroit winning a couple of first-round series or having a run to the conference finals within the next three years.