DBB on 3: New Year’s Resolutions

Signing up to a gym (or actually using the membership you’ve been paying for for the last five years), cutting back on fast food, spending more time with your kids/parents/significant other, reading more, etc etc blah blah. Every year loads of people try to start the new year out trying to be that “new you”. Does it work? I recently read a statistic that only 8 percent of people actually accomplish their resolution but hey, better than...7 percent?

Considering how things have been going lately it seems we all have some desires for the Pistons to seek their own “new you.” We break it down into management, team and individual players and throw out ideas for what we wish some New Year’s Resolutions would look like.

1. What do you wish the Pistons management’s New Year’s Resolution would be?

Steve Hinson: To put together a roster that can compete for the Eastern Conference Championship. Otherwise, what the hell are we doing here? On Pistons Twitter, it’s a common theme to hear about how the front office is handcuffed. It isn’t. There’s plenty of talent that other teams would be interested in, the league currently has a ton of teams fighting for legitimacy, and the trade market is tight. That’s a great situation for a mediocre team with talent to be in. Ed Stefanski’s job is to figure out the right players to build around and then, amazingly, build around it.

The trio of Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond, and Reggie Jackson aren’t the right trio. The Bucks and Pacers have proven that you can win in the East without more than one top tier talent player if the complimenting players are right. Surround Blake Griffin with the right guys, this can absolutely be one that puts themselves in the conversation. But maintaining the status quo won’t get the job done. I don’t care about excuses on contracts - this was the same bullshit we heard when Joe Dumars went years without making a trade. And it was proven to just be shit fed to keep relationships with Dumars solid. Which I get. But still, don’t buy it. Ed Stefanski isn’t handcuffed - he is actually able to, you know, do his job. But if all he’s here to do is keep the seat warm, he can move the hell on right now to make way for someone with an actual vision in how to turn this into a contending team.

Ryan Pravato: Pretty much what Steve Hinson wrote.

Justin Lambregtse: A sense of urgency to make a move. This team doesn’t wants to avoid the luxury tax, but also wants to be competitive. That is how you get stuck in mediocrity. Pick one and make a move to either help this sinking ship sink more or save this sinking ship.

Ben Gulker: To become clear about the vision for the franchise. Is the team focused on a shorter-term plan built around Blake Griffin? If so, the time to reshape the roster around him is now. Or, is the team focused on a longer-term rebuild after Blake Griffin? If so, it’s time to start stockpiling some assets. Either way, standing pat isn’t a solution.

Brady Fredericksen: I wish Santa Claus would have brought them a time machine so they could have gone back and undone everything Stan Van Gundy did... and maybe go back and convince Joe Dumars to never throw a bazillion dollars at Josh Smith, too? Really, I’d like for them to see if they can make the team better. Simple, I know, but even with a disastrous payroll situation, I just can’t see Tom Gores and his win-now personality being ok with this disjointed roster wasting what is probably going to be the best version of Blake Griffin we’ll see in Detroit. I get waiting for the right deal, but the Pistons are bad now and if they remain in the same shape they will be bad again next year. Trades aren’t always perfect, but sometimes you’ve got to crack a few eggs to make an omelette.

David Fernandez: I’ll give Piston’s management 1 of 2 option.

Option 1 - listen to Steve Hinson, sell as high as possible on Andre Drummond (pretty sure that’s what he was saying, at least partly) and look to build a team that makes more sense around Detroit’s marquee man, Blake Griffin

Option 2 - stick to your guns with your two bigs, and BE PATIENT. Wait until dollars fall off your books over the course of the next two years and see if you can add value by trading away (what should be more valuable) expiring contracts, or taking your newfound cash to the free agency market.

2. What do you wish the Pistons as a team’s New Year’s Resolution would be?

Steve Hinson: They’ve had the same one for a decade now: figure out how to have a decent offense. They haven’t finished with an above average offensive rating since the Going to Work crew in 2007-08. There have been some flashes of selfless play and ball movement, which could be a nice helper in getting them there. Shot selection has been mostly solid, even though making them hasn’t been. There are some makings of a decent offensive team here. But also some obvious bad habits, which have been an anchor. But they’ll never be more than what they are without getting rid of those anchors.

Ryan Pravato: Play hard and play smart. Compete.

Justin Lambregtse: Commitment to playing consistently. I won’t use any names because it is pretty much the whole team. This team couldn’t string together two good games in a row if their lives depended on it. Even the worst teams in the league find ways to put together a couple of good games.

Ben Gulker: No shooting guard or small forward gets to leave the practice facility until they’ve each made 30 consecutive three-point shots.

Brady Fredericksen: Make shots. Again, I’m not asking for much here. That goes beyond making the oodles of wide-open triples that Griffin creates for guys. That includes taking good shots, ones that are in your skill set. I’m talking about a certain small forward in a make-or-break season who is shooting 4 triples a game and converting 27% of them.

David Fernandez: When on the court, move. I’ve seen too many possessions of late where guys who are away from the ball stand like statues. If you’re not cutting, or setting off-ball screens, look to crash the offensive glass. The Pistons have one of the worst offenses in the league, and one way to improve such a malignant offense is by creating easy looks from off ball movement or from second chance opportunities. Detroit cannot hit their open shots, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t continue to look for those opportunities.

3. What do you wish one particular Pistons player’s New Year’s Resolution would be?

Steve Hinson: For Stanley Johnson to find his offensive identity. He has 46 games to salvage his Pistons career. As it is, he’s not worth re-signing. Which is a shame. He does a lot of things of value. But his identity on the offensive end is still a moving target. He’s tried a lot of different things - a three point specialist, go-to-scorer, stuff like that. Know what he hasn’t tried? Being a distributor. He flashes some passing chops. He knows how to put the ball on the floor. He’s at his best attacking the rim. But his assist high on the season is four, and he only has four games with at least three assists. Draymond Green’s shot to assist ratio is nearly 1:1 - Johnson’s is about 5:1. If Johnson put himself in that range, decided to be the next Draymond , he’d have a shitton of value to the Pistons. The championship rings and looming potential max contract for Green are testament of that. But if he’d rather put his value in pointz, let him walk this summer.

Ryan Pravato: Luke Kennard needs to shoot the rock like the Pistons depend on it -- because it kind of does!

Justin Lambregtse: Luke Kennard needs to stop being hesitant. Just keep chucking, shoot as many shots as your heart desires and see what happens.

Ben Gulker: It’s a tie between Blake Griffin minimizing his turnovers and Andre Drummond minimizing his own shot “creation.” Both things leave the Pistons with too many empty possessions.

Brady Fredericksen: I wish Luke Kennard would forget he had a conscious. The more I watch him, the more I’m starting to think he’s a player who can make shots but doesn’t necessarily want to shoot. I’d love to see Kennard flip his mentality and play like a Jamal Crawford or Lou Williams-type for a month. Just to see how it goes. Take your shots. Forget the misses. Get buckets. Give the team what it desperately needs.

David Fernandez: I’m looking at two players, sorry Chris. Reggie Bullock and Luke Kennard - I don’t care if these two combine to shoot 35+ attempts per game, I’m going to need more than the 16 attempts per game they currently average. Of course, Kennard will need more consistent minutes, looking at you Dwane Casey, and the other guys on the floor have to look to share the rock more *cough Andre Drummond post-ups cough*.
(Writer’s note: that’s technically three David.)

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That’s what we’d like to see happen. Note not one person mentioned for Dre to not be so fat!! Please play along at home, copy/paste the questions and give us your takes, plus your own Resolutions if you’d care to share what 8 percent of you will actually accomplish.

1. What do you wish the Pistons management’s New Year’s Resolution would be?

2. What do you wish the Pistons as a team’s New Year’s Resolution would be?

3. What do you wish one particular Pistons player’s New Year’s Resolution would be?