NBA Rumors: It may be time for the Detroit Pistons to hit the reset button all over again.
Before the start of the season, there were many that believed (or hoped is perhaps a better word now) that the Detroit Pistons were going to be one of the young teams to take the league by surprise. Last season, it was the Sacramento Kings. This season, there was a growing expectation that the Pistons were at least in the conversation to be the next darling to win over the NBA fan base at large.
However, through the first 20 or so games of the season, that hasn't exactly happened. At the near quarter-mark of the season, instead of being one of the biggest pleasant surprises in the NBA, the Pistons have been one of the biggest disappointments. Through the first 19 games of the season, the Pistons are 2-17 and are currently on a historic 16-game losing streak.
What's even more concerning is that this historic losing trend is something that has followed the Pistons into this season (stretching back from last year).
Pistons lost 23 of their last 25 last season. 16 of their first 18 this season. Absolutely brutal. Four wins since Valentine's Day
— Omari Sankofa II (@omarisankofa) November 30, 2023
You can actually take on another loss since that tweet from Pistons beat writer Omari Sankofa II. The Pistons just also completed an unbelievable 0-15 stretch in the month of November.
Who is to blame for the Detroit Pistons' struggles?
The truly confusing part of the Pistons' struggles is that they have a talented roster. On paper, they have a solid young core in Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Jaden Ivey, Isaiah Stewart, and Ausar Thompson. For one reason or another, nothing has seemed to click for this team so far this season.
It's gotten so bad that there are now whispers that there is some internal conflict regarding playing time. This is far from an ideal situation for such a young team. This is not the season that many thought the Pistons would be having right now and there has to be some internal searching going on.
Detroit has struggled so much over the last two seasons that it's not outrageous to suggest that they might need another complete rebuild of the roster. The easy move for the Pistons is to fire a head coach but they just signed Monty Williams to a huge contract.
I suppose the next suggestion is to allow him to find his footing with this roster. There are some very big questions that need to be answered behind closed doors. Quite frankly, it's difficult to trust the Pistons to figure it out with how bad they've been over the last calendar year.
Maybe the Pistons do need to blow it all up again and start from ground zero. The bottom line is, the Pistons are in trouble. And I'm not sure there's clear way out.