After a six-year postseason absence, the Detroit Pistons had their most successful season since a long run throughout the 2000s and returned to the playoffs. Despite being swept by the Cavaliers in the first round, the Pistons were competitive throughout the series and the franchise is moving in a positive direction. Stan Van Gundy has now had two full years to build the type of roster he wants and has some of the bigger pieces in place for the future.

Van Gundy likes to play with one true big surrounded by interchangeable forwards and shooters at the guard positions. This is the style he had some success with when he was head coach of the Miami Heat and got to the Finals with when running the Orlando Magic. By acquiring Tobias Harris at the trade deadline, the Pistons made their big offseason pick up a little earlier than expected. To have acquired Harris without dealing away any key components of the team was a terrific piece of roster maneuvering by Van Gundy and GM Jeff Bower. While Harris has his flaws (he’s not a true PF or SF and not a great defender), he fits what Van Gundy wants in a forward almost perfectly. He can swing between either forward spot and can offer up scoring both inside and outside. He’s almost a perfect pairing with Marcus Morris as Van Gundy tries to recreate his Orlando duo of Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis.

Morris was acquired last summer in a salary dump by Phoenix as they cleared cap space for a run at LaMarcus Aldridge. Thought to initially be a backup, Morris instead started all year long and gave Detroit a poor man’s Draymond Green. He scored inside and outside, handled the ball a lot, played passable defense, and was in general a great addition, playing the most minutes on the team. Morris a big part of what the Pistons want to do going forward and is on one of the better contracts in the league.

The Pistons' big trade deadline acquisition in 2015, Reggie Jackson, also proved worthy of the big contract he signed over the summer by giving Detroit almost 19 PPG and 6 APG. He fits the offense perfectly as both a primary scorer and distributor. He also has good chemistry with Andre Drummond in the pick and roll game. He is the clear leader of a backcourt that includes a rapidly developing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and not much else. Jodie Meeks was injured for the entire season and wasn’t productive in his first year in Detroit. Steve Blake gave the team steady, but unspectacular play behind Jackson. The wildcard in the backcourt is Stanley Johnson. Some see him as more of a forward, which is important in the Detroit system where forwards and guards aren’t lumped together as wings as they are on a lot of other teams. If Johnson can develop a reliable jumper to go along with his other skills, the Pistons have a nice backup that could eventually turn into a starter. Being that Johnson will only be 20 years old at the start of next season, he has plenty of room to grow as a player.

Turning to the offseason, the Pistons' main piece of business will be to come to an agreement with Drummond. As a Restricted Free Agent, the Pistons will match any offer Drummond gets, but it is unlikely to even get that far. Similar to the Spurs' path with Kawhi Leonard last summer, Detroit held off on signing Drummond to an extension to make use of his smaller cap hold and to increase their available cap space this summer. Drummond is a virtual lock to re-sign with the Pistons, likely on a max contract extension, as he’s the perfect fit for what Van Gundy wants from his center in the mold of Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal before him. 

With a roster that is fairly deep, Detroit will bet on better cohesion and internal growth, while supplementing the roster with free agents. Of their own free agents, Steve Blake could be back, but the Pistons won’t extend very far to retain him. They may also look to go younger at the backup position through the Draft or by going for a free agent. Several affordable options like Ramon Sessions, Brian Roberts or Ish Smith could make sense. The Pistons' other free agent of note, Anthony Tolliver, is a player that Van Gundy would like to have back. He’s a nice fit as a forward with range that is comfortable in a reserve role. He should be relatively affordable, so a return engagement there seems to make some sense.

To add to the roster, the Pistons would like to add better depth behind Caldwell-Pope, with Meeks being unreliable, and more shooting around Drummond. This could be achieved by signing a veteran like Eric Gordon, Kevin Martin, or Wayne Ellington. None of those players would break the bank and would all benefit from coming off the bench in a lesser role than they’ve held previously to help them navigate through a long season.

Another forward to backup Morris and Harris is also a target, ideally a player with range. Several of the bigger names are likely out of Detroit’s price range, but Solomon Hill would be a great fit. He came into his own down the stretch in Indiana and the Pacers are limited in what they can pay him this summer. Keep an eye on Van Gundy favorite Ryan Anderson as well, but he’s likely to fetch a larger deal than Detroit can offer. Mirza Teletovic could be a nice alternative, as could a player like Marvin Williams.

Van Gundy inherited a flawed roster that included Greg Monroe and Josh Smith next to Drummond in the frontcourt and a backcourt led by Brandon Jennings. By jettisoning Smith (despite a costly buyout and stretch provision), trading Jennings and letting Monroe leave as a FA, Van Gundy put his stamp on the roster. He now has the deep versatile starting five he prefers and good depth pieces at some key spots. The Pistons will use their available space to add backups at PG, SG and a forward. None of the moves this offseason will likely be all that glamorous, but Detroit already made the headline moves the last two trade deadlines by acquiring Reggie Jackson and Tobias Harris. That kind of foresight to act early often results in big payoffs. That the Pistons did it without sacrificing big parts of their future bodes even better for the long term success of the franchise.

Offseason Details

Guaranteed Contracts (8): Aron Baynes, Reggie Bullock, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Tobias Harris, Reggie Jackson, Stanley Johnson, Jodie Meeks, Marcus Morris

Partial/Non-Guaranteed Contracts (4): Joel Anthony, Lorenzo Brown, Spencer Dinwiddie, Darrun Hilliard II

Potential Free Agents (3): Steve Blake (UFA), Andre Drummond (RFA), Anthony Tolliver (UFA)

“Dead” Money on Cap (2): $452,049 (Aaron Gray), $5,400,000 (Josh Smith)

First Round Draft Picks: #18

Maximum Cap Space: $24,748,702

Projected Cap Space: $12,067,192