AUBURN HILLS – Stan Van Gundy churned through the roster handed him, bringing
only three players – Andre Drummond, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and an injured
Brandon Jennings – he inherited to his second training camp.
Roster stability was a goal, but first he needed to acquire guys he wanted to
grow with and together. The Pistons were on the cusp of achieving remarkable
continuity this off-season. The only looming question entering July was whether
they’d retain Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. But he was a restricted free agent and
history shows “restricted” is an apt description of their movement.
As it turned out, the Pistons were presented a limited-time offer to capitalize
on Boston’s need to shed salary and moved on from Caldwell-Pope by trading for
his replacement, Avery Bradley.
In the process, they also traded continuity for possibility.
There was a case to be made for staying the course and letting the core Van
Gundy put together to snap the franchise’s six-year playoff drought the previous
season come back intact – with a healthy Reggie Jackson – and see where it took
them.
There was an equally compelling case to alter the mix. Even with a healthy
Jackson, the Pistons were heavily reliant on his pick-and-roll explosiveness and
decision making. The two starters lost, Caldwell-Pope and Marcus Morris, gave
the Pistons plenty of competitiveness and were willing shooters but didn’t do
much at the wing positions to relieve the pressure on Jackson to make plays.
The players who figure to consume most of their minutes, Bradley and Stanley
Johnson, go a long way toward fulfilling Van Gundy’s wish to diversify the
offense by adding secondary ballhandlers. Langston Galloway and Luke Kennard
could wind up playing important roles, too, and they’ll multiply Van Gundy’s
possibilities. If Henry Ellenson takes minutes at power forward – a virtual
7-footer who can put the ball on the floor with either hand – the offense adds
another layer of complexity.
But as much as diversifying the offense, injecting Van Gundy’s fourth edition of
the Pistons with fresh perspective might be just as important. Bradley brings
stature and aura with him, not just a guy who’s started 39 playoff games –
that’s 14 more than the rest of his teammates combined – but who is universally
respected for his consistent effort and fearlessness at both ends. If Bradley
isn’t a leading voice – and quite likely the leading voice – by the time
training camp ends, it’ll be an upset.
If the Pistons hadn’t slumped to 37 wins from 44 in Van Gundy’s second season,
would they have responded differently to the chance to obtain Bradley at the
cost of one starter (Morris) while essentially cutting ties with another
(Caldwell-Pope)? Maybe. But there was a danger in bringing back essentially the
same team that grew visibly frustrated with its inability to further the
momentum generated by their 2016 playoff berth, even if the Jackson injury was
the driving force.
Had the Pistons returned virtually intact and not experienced immediate success,
they ran the risk of running aground with a capped-out roster. The injection of
newcomers not only achieved Van Gundy’s goal of diversifying the offense and
adding 3-point shooting, it gives the Pistons emotional breathing room to
weather an early adjustment period.
The departure of Caldwell-Pope means only Drummond remains from the 2014
preseason roster. Continuity is a desirable quality and Van Gundy isn’t making
haphazard personnel decisions in hopes of randomly striking upon a winning mix.
But in an era when few contracts last longer than three years and a third or
more of the league hits free agency every summer, Van Gundy’s front office isn’t
going to value continuity at the expense of possibility.
Player: Avery Bradley
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