Preseason Form:

8-2

Pistons took the league by storm in the Pre-season, only losing once in the leadup rounds before being knocked out in the Finals. Kyrie was unstoppable, grouping him with Blake, Galo and Bam provided winners on each line.

 

Best Player:

More than 1 player could take this role in the Piston, it comes back to the man with the ball in his hands Kyrie Irving. Irving has some serious handles, it shows with his 99 rating for ball control, its his offence, passing vision and accuracy that makes him elite. His defence may not be up with the best, he still manages to often break even.

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Best Breakout Prospect:

Edrice Adebayo is now the starting centre for the NBA Heat, he has been given the position to own and dominate. Detroit may have selected him as a bargain in the 4^th round, after his latest rating upgrade, Bam is now rated 81, which is equal 12^th among all Centres.

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Difference Maker:

Danilo Gallinari as a 6’10 Small Forward is a huge advantage, stretching the floor for the 2 stars. Having 5 players with ratings 80+, you will always have a player that goes under the radar or doesn’t get the attention he deserves, Gallinari is that player. The guy can seriously shoot and can change the result of games when he switches it on, you can’t let him get into rhythm or watch out.

 

Draft 2019:

Pistons even with all their arsenal, managed to still land pick 10 in the 2019 Draft.

 

1              10           Jaxson Hayes

Jaxson Hayes is a physically gifted big man with excellent tools for a modern center coming off a breakout freshman season at Texas. Sitting at 6’10, he sits at a similar height to Dwight Howard. Being picket at 8 in the NBA, he dropped a couple of spots in the NSL, to the Pistons advantage. In Hayes NBA debut, he was very impressive, scoring 19 points in 24 minutes on 9-11 of shooting.

2              51           Isaiah Roby

With a late pick in the draft, the pistons take a punt on Isaiah Roby. is a high level defender who should be able to guard 3 positions in the NBA. He’s blessed with high level length, and athletic ability to go with a nice overall feel for the game. He has signed with the Mavericks in the NBA on a 3 year contract, he is yet to sign with the NSL Pistons.

 

Salary Cap

The Pistons are currently in Hard Cap territory which shouldn’t mean much with all the GM points being thrown around in the NSL. At some stage if the Pistons aren’t a serious championship contender, they will look to trade away salary before round 15.

 

Any Trades:

Pistons haven’t made any trades at this stage. Sheed can be an active trader or very quiet, it seems he is currently very quiet, with all his assets, its easy to see why.

 

Trade targets/possible trades

Detroit have a seriously well-rounded side, with depth and quality on each line.  The only trade moves I can see the team needing to do, other than wanting to get better would be saving on Salary. Jordan Clarkson or Spencer Dinwiddie stand out, both seem like the same player. I can understand wanting to keep both players, as that’s great depth with shooters on the court but that’s allot of coin.

If Gallinari gets lost in the system and doesn’t get his touches, I can see him being traded for a better defending Wing. Yet, when you have Crowder in the wings, Gallinari could be moved to the bench or out the door.  Might be worth taking a punt on a young rookie in return for Gallinari, De’Andre Hunter or Cam Reddish stand out as possible targets.

 

Win Loss Over/Under

Unless injuries hit this team hard, I can’t see them getting less than 58 wins. They are the favourite for the Eastern Championship and a legit contender.

 

 

GM:

Sheed has been around the game a long time, as a GM in the NLL. As a GM, you get to take punts, sometimes they pay off, and other times they don’t. Sheed isn’t afraid to make moves, watch this space, because I think this is the best team he has ever owned.

 

The Future:

This team is built to win now, a serious championship contender. Its not all about the now either, they have so much talent that is developing, and could turn into additional future stars. Sheed deserves credit for this roster, and the line-up he envisioned, I really think he couldn’t have done much better.