Detroit Pistons Building Around Big Three a Mistake

Yesterday Detroit Pistons General Manager Ed Stefanski mentioned the organization would continue to build around their “big three.” Is this a mistake?

The term “big three” is an enormous stretch of the term possible; big three of what? It’s like expecting positive results but refusing to change your mindset or the way you are doing things. Imagine you tell your boss that you have a more efficient way of doing your job and they tell you, no, keep doing it how you’ve always done it and maybe eventually you’ll be more successful. The Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores said the team would build around Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond & Reggie Jackson in the past so Ed Stefanski’s comments shouldn’t come as a surprise.

The problem is, it’s simply not working. If the Detroit Pistons had Andre Drummond playing with Blake Griffin ten or fifteen years ago, it would be a dynamic duo. The game has changed, it’s a shooters’ game. Watching the NBA Finals, it became evident in today’s’ NBA you need three-point shooters to keep up with the competition.

Look at Marc Gasol; he played decent defense down the stretch with the Raptors while chipping in on the boards and shooting an effective straight away three when left alone. Draymond Green can even chip in with a three here and there, but he’s a premier defender who can guard many different positions.

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Drummond is a monster on the boards, but he needs to find a way to score without just a put-back, and how many times does he miss in tight. At times it’s like a sixth grader missing a couple of times under the basket but is able to get his own rebound before finally converting.

He’s led the league in rebounding three of the last four years, so he is efficient in that regard, but when you make over 25-million a season you need to be more than just a rebounder. He did average 17.3 points per game but once again disappeared in the playoffs. His salary is part of the problem that continues to hamper the Detroit Pistons from building a better support cast. Drummond is set to make 27-million next season.

The Pistons added Thon Maker during the regular season from Milwaukee. He’s 21-years-old with potential to grow into a more significant role. He’s under contract for two more seasons. Although he isn’t ready to be a starting center he owns a high shooting ceiling than Andre, I admit he isn’t near the caliber player Andre is but if the Detroit Pistons found a way to move Drummond they could spend his 27-million elsewhere to find more scoring.

Reggie Jackson finally was able to stay healthy last season while averaging 15.4 points per game which ranks third best throughout his career. He averaged 27.9 minutes a game this past year, which is the most he’s played over the last three years. It was the first time in Jackson’s nine-year career that he appeared in all 82 regular season games.

Jackson made 17-million dollars last year, and he’s set to make 18 next year, which is the final year of his contract. I feel the Detroit Pistons should consider moving Jackson this summer while his stock appears as high as its been since the Pistons traded for the point guard. The Pistons would benefit by spreading his 18-million across a couple of more efficient shooters.

Some fans are so discouraged they want the Detroit Pistons to blow the entire thing up and start over. Although I don’t entirely agree with that, I understand your frustration. Blake Griffin played exceptionally well averaging a career-high 24.5 points per game. He played better than many expected. He’s the star of this team; I want the Pistons to keep him and build him a better supporting cast.

Some people won’t agree with that because his career year last year will be hard to replicate again. His 34.234 million dollar salary next season is a hard one to move, but he would provide the highest return of any player currently rostered. Still, I’d keep Griffin but would be very open to moving either Drummond or Jackson, maybe both. The salaries of the “big three” are preventing the organization from getting better and once again competing in the East.

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The Pistons need to change the way they are doing things, they owned the seventh largest team salary last season, yet they were a .500 ball club only able to secure the eighth seed. They were abruptly swept in the first round of the playoffs and provided little to no resistance. The fans deserve better, and it starts with Tom Gores & Ed Stefanski.

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