Where Do We Go From Here? (Detroit Piston Edition)

There this saying that goes "one step forward, two steps backwards".  I know it sounds dope on paper, but hearing someone effectively use it in a conversation is way more powerful.

I learned this awhile back while having a convo with a certain homey, one with a really hard-work ethic, so I had to respect what he was saying.  I can't remember what we were talking about exactly, but I was about to do something, and he said 'that would be like taking one step forward and two steps backwards', and immediately I was forced to rethink.  And since then, that saying does pop up in my mind every once in awhile.  For instance when reports surfaced that the Pistons may go after DeAndre Ayton after already having traded Jerami Grant away, I was thinking to myself like 'damn, that'd be like one step forwards and two steps backwards'.  But after putting initial emotion aside, I realized what it would really be like is taking one step forward and one step backward, you know, like ending up where you started.

I know that this blog strongly advocates that youth is a plus in the NBA, but I think some people are taking that idea too far.  Basketball is not a sport where youngsters can just dominate.  You know what I'm saying?  If you play a group of 20-year-olds vs. 40-year-olds, the 20-years-old would likely win.  But if you play them against 30-year-olds, gusy who are stronger and still have some speed, then they're going to have to rely on more than just youth.  Older guys like that, those who ain't that much older, are able to take younger basketball players out of their game through contact alone.

And concerning the mention of emotion earlier yes, when I learned that the Pistons traded Grant for relative scraps, I was in a state of shock.  As reported, the main rationale was to free up cap space, enough to go after any big fish they want really.  But damn, giving up arguably your best player in the process, when you're not even going through a rebuild?

Then they're saying that Grant, at 28, is so much older than the Pistons core.  Now the off thing about that logic is that this free agent class is kinda unappealing, and there aren't that many quality young dudes on the list to begin with.  I just went through the entire list, and the only two names that popped out who are also young like the Pistons are Mo Bamba and Nic Claxton, the latter who I think would be the fit better (especially after his experience in Brooklyn).  Colin Sexton is also on the list, someone who has been mentioned as a potential target of Detroit, but it's like they just drafted a dude like Sexton, at least according to NBC.  Maybe Mitchell Robinson also, who's name I missed going down the list the first time.  So you're trying to tell me that the Knicks starting center is an unrestricted free agent, and they're rather out there chasing Jalen Brunson?

CONCLUSION

I know that no matter how many articles I read and videos I watch, I'm not an NBA insider.  So trades like Jerami Grant, which don't seem to make particular sense for Detroit to let him go, like who knows the exact reasons they parted ways anyway?

But what I do know or at least expect is this.  The Pistons would be lucky to just make the Playoffs - no matter how good Cade Cunningham may be next season - without any recognizable vet presence, you know, the type they just let go off in Grant.  And just making the Playoffs would be cool, if they're not feening to win a championship.  Detroit would actually be a good destination for an established vet, like KD, if such superstars weren't so obsessed with instant winning.

But right now (according to Sportrac), it's like they have $25mil to spend, more than any other team but not really much in NBA terms.  Or in conclusion, it's like the Pistons need to score two quality players to have actually made progress, unless they're relying primarily on their draft picks to move their roster forward, which is risky.  And I wouldn't be totally surprised if they went after Sexton, since it looks like what they need most may be guard depth, but I think more likely they would have to go after someone who isn't a ball hog.  So who knows?  Maybe they'll be able to get one of the bigmen above and a quality 2-guard.  Scoring a vet starter and a vet rotational player would make losing Grant look way wiser than just getting one player, even Ayton, in return, unless that player is really a superstar.