Season Positional Review: The Bigs
By Jasper Apollonia
From rookie draft picks, to established veterans, to trade-deadline acquisitions, it was a tumultuous, yet exciting season for the Detroit Pistons' big men. With Detroit's front office seemingly committed to a two-big approach, let's dive into how the Pistons interior players fared this past season.
Jalen Duren:
When the Pistons acquired Duren in a draft night deal that included both the New York Knicks and the Charlotte Hornets, the general feeling among most fans and analysts was that he'd be brought along slowly, as Detroit had a glut of bigs already on the roster. Within the first few games of the season, however, it became apparent that Duren was not only the future of the center position for Detroit, but their best option there during the 2022-23 season.
While Dwane Casey played the talented young big man off of the bench exclusively for the first 23 games of his career, an early December move into the starting lineup showed what Duren was capable of, as he averaged a double double at 10.6 points and 10.1 rebounds in 26.7 minutes per game for the rest of the season. While Duren was far from a plus defender, he showed his ability to crash the glass, block shots, and began mixing in a developing face-up game as showing off his wildly intriguing passing chops as the season progressed. Duren has been compared by some to Bam Adebayo, and the reasons for that comparison became clearer with every passing game. There are a lot of question marks for Detroit's roster moving forward. Jalen Duren is not one of them.
James Wiseman:
One of the most divisive players in the entire league, the trade deadline acquisition of James Wiseman for Saddiq Bey was met with equal parts skepticism and excitement by the fanbase. Wiseman struggled to get on the court for the Golden State Warriors since being drafted 2nd-overall in 2020, both because of injury and uneven play. While he was able to stay healthy and largely productive in his 24 games for Detroit, averaging 12.7 points and 8.1 rebounds in 25.2 minutes per game, many of the same issues he faced in the Bay followed him to Motown.
There is no question Wiseman is a devastating post scorer and excellent athlete, but the Pistons already poor defensive and rebounding numbers sank to even lower depths with Wiseman on the floor. His lack of spacing and passing ability (or willingness to pass, for that matter) was apparent as well, as he often forced interior shots while double and triple-teamed in the post, ignoring open shooters. On the other hand, Wiseman just turned 22-years-old and has played less than 2000 minutes of basketball since entering college. His athletic profile, size, and touch leave optimism for growth, with Troy Weaver outright stating that he plans on starting Wiseman and focusing on two-big lineups moving forward. Whether that plan, or Wiseman himself, end up being successful in Detroit is still up for debate. But given the front office's statements and investment in him, Wiseman will receive every opportunity to prove himself next season.
Isaiah Stewart:
It was an up and down season for Detroit's longest tenured big man, as "Beef Stew" was forced to deal with injuries, a change in position, and two new faces at the position he's played for the Pistons the past two seasons. While there have been rumblings around Stewart's three-point shooting potential and a possible long-term switch to power forward since his rookie season, this was the first year he was truly given a shot there.
The results were decidedly mixed, as Stewart shot 32.7% from three on 4.1 attempts per game (right around his career average) and largely went unguarded from beyond the three point line for most of the year. But those numbers don't tell the whole story, as he hit 51.7% of his threes in November and 36.6% of his attempts in December before suffering a shoulder injury that torpedoed his percentages in January and February before ultimately derailing his season. His normally solid defense and rebounding also seemed to take a hit with the switch to power forward, with his 10.8 rebounds per 36 minutes representing a career low, although the Pistons overall terrible team rebounding numbers may have affected his output there. In the end, not much was answered for fans or the front office, as Stewart enters the offseason as a player whose role is very much in flux for the franchise.
Marvin Bagley III:
Another Pistons player seemingly trapped between power forward and center, Marvin Bagley only played 42 games for Detroit, a worrying trend for a 5th year player that has only managed to appear in more than 48 games once in his entire career. Bagley is still a dangerous low-post player when he's on his game, and the Pistons desperately needed his 12 points per game more often than not after Cade Cunningham's early season ending injury, but still suffered from many of the issues that have made him a borderline rotation player for his career so far. He shot just 28.8% from three on 1.6 attempts per game, and regressed as a rebounder to one of the worst big men in the league in that regard, averaging less than 6.5 boards per game.
This will be an interesting offseason for Bagley, whom Weaver invested in last offseason to the tune of a 3-year $37 million deal. Detroit now has three other bigs that require playing time in Stewart, Duren and Wiseman, all who seem to fit what the front office wants from their big men better than Bagley does. He could very well begin the year with the Pistons, but dont be surprised if this is his last full season in Detroit.
Nerlens Noel:
Acquired from the Knicks along with Alec Burks, there were some who thought Noel might not just contribute for the Pistons this season, but even potentially start for them. That ended up not being the case, as Noel was glued to the bench for Detroit outside of "break in case of emergency" situations due to the Pistons injury issues. He appeared in just 14 games for the franchise before being waived at the end of February and eventually signing with the Brooklyn Nets.