this post was submitted on 23 Nov 2023
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I get the idea of drafting for talent over fit, but that really only works if the talent is enough to make fit irrelevant. Detroit just doesn’t have the talent for that and it’s made the roster a mess, which could potentially stunt the growth of all their young players.
I also didn’t like the Monty hire because a coach coming straight from a finals contender always seemed like a bad fit for a team full of young guys. And even if Ayton was part of the problem, it seemed like a bad sign that Monty alienated a good young player that was an important part of a finals run.
Unless someone makes a leap to legit stardom amidst the current mess, I’m not super optimistic about this current “core’s” future
Five lottery picks (not even counting Bagley or Wiseman since the Pistons didn't draft them) who can't shoot 3's is a recipe for disaster in today's NBA. Maybe Cunningham and Ivey can work themselves up to average+ shooters, but Hayes can't shoot at all and Thompson is somehow even worse than that. Having more than one non-shooter on the court at a time is a bad idea for a modern-day NBA offense, yet Thompson and Duren are probably Detroit's 2nd and 3rd best players.
I think it was an expensive mistake to throw $12M/year at Monty Williams when you know the team is going to be bad regardless, but it's not my money. Monty has always had a stronger rep as a developmental coach than a championship X and O's guy, which was probably the thinking in making a Godfather offer to him, to try and teach good habits and winning basketball even if it wasn't going to happen right away.
Thompson is young enough that we have no idea what kind of shooter he'll end up being, non-existent, solid, good, etc.
Kawhi, Jimmy Butler, and Lonzo Ball were all dudes with broken jump shots who were able to fix them and get better.
Butler and Ball are poor counter-examples since Butler has never fixed his shot (32% career 3P%) while Ball's release looked funky but he was never a bad shooter.