Detroit Pistons: Three holiday wishes heading into 2021

Here are three wishes for the Detroit Pistons for the rest of the season.

The Detroit Pistons kicked off their season with a 111-101 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Fans should not be disheartened by this loss at all. This season shouldn’t be measured by wins and losses, but just on developing young players and lottery odds for the 2021 stacked drafted class.

Healthy seasons for Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose

Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin are the best players on this year’s Pistons, but both have struggled with injuries in their careers. Despite not having any intentions of winning, their health is still important for a few reasons.

If they can play a large majority of the games, they will help make the rest of the team better and allow them to develop. Rose’s shot-creating and scoring will take the pressure of other players and not force them to try and make tough shots. Also, his presence will create easy looks for young bench players, such as Josh Jackson and Svi Mykhailuk, allowing them to grow their confidence.

Griffin will allow aid in the development of young players. If he stays healthy, he may lead the team in assists as he looks extremely comfortable leading the offense. His passing ability and secondary ballhandling will be necessary to allow Killian Hayes to naturally gain more responsibility as the leader of the offense. This will be great for Hayes as he won’t be forced to take control of the offense before he is ready and ruin his confidence.

Another added benefit would be if they can stay healthy and productive; it will boost their trade value. If they play well, and the young players are ready to take a larger role, it would make a lot of sense to trade them for draft picks to prepare for the future.

If Rose plays like last year, he should be worth at least a late first-round draft pick from a contending team. Griffin is harder to predict because of his large contract, but if they can bring back a younger player or any draft capital and get off his contract, that would be a tremendous win for the Pistons.