Detroit Pistons: A reset button
It’s time for a fresh start in Detroit, otherwise known as a full-on tank. Making it to the playoffs last year seemed more like an aberration than a stepping stone for them to build on and the first quarter of this season has proven that.
Per Spotrac, Reggie Jackson’s $18 million will be coming off the books this summer, and I’d expect them to kick the tires on Andre Drummond‘s market value over the next couple of months as we approach the trade deadline. Blake Griffin is locked in through 2020 and has a player option for 2021, but I’d be surprised if he finishes that contract in Detroit.
Detroit is a city starving for good basketball, but the best days for this group are already in the rearview mirror. A full rebuild ought to be coming sooner than later.
Golden State Warriors: As many lotto balls as the NBA can give them
It was nice of the Golden State Warriors owner, Joe Lacob, to shout down from his high horse that tanking is against everything they stand for and they wouldn’t do it, but after the injury, to Steph Curry, this was pretty easy to see coming.
I mean, they put out a starting lineup of Ky Bowman, Jordan Poole, Glenn Robinson III, Eric Paschall, and Willie Cauley-Stein…in an actual regular season NBA game! That lineup sounds more like a 4-seed battling New Mexico State in a hard-fought NCAA tournament game than an NBA team who’s actually trying to win.
Tanking jokes aside, the Warriors are doing the right thing, I just wish they’d embrace the tank. Their mission for 2019-20 should be all about health, free agency, and collecting all of the lottery balls available so they can cash them in during the 2020 NBA draft.