The Pistons Lost the Lottery, Head Coach Swap, and Chauncey Billups | The Weekly Drive
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Pistons had bad lottery luck.
Good morning Pistons fans, and welcome to the Weekly Drive. The NBA Lottery was last night, ESPN proposed the Pistons swapping coaches with another team, Chauncy Billups may be available soon, and Trae Young has a new agent. Let’s get into it.
Winning Lottery Numbers
The NBA Draft Lottery was last night, and the Detroit Pistons will be picking fifth, the worst possible outcome.
Last week’s Weekly Drive highlighted that this particular draft is considered weaker by comparison, but there are still some good players to be had. The Pistons picking fifth, as disappointing as it is, is not as crippling as it would’ve been, say, last year. Wait…
But the question for the Pistons is not only who they will draft, but if they are going to make the pick in the first place.
Detroit has been earmarked as a team that plans to be aggressive in the trade and free agency markets this offseason, and trading their pick will almost certainly be on the table. Expect the new President of Basketball Operations, whoever that may be, to get the wheels spinning with a plan for the offseason.
Swapping Coaches?
As discussed many times on the Palace of Pistons podcast, it was not a great season for head coach Monty Williams. Never mind that he received, at the time, the richest NBA coaching contract in the history of the league, Williams would have received disdain either way. His misuse of Jaden Ivey, baffling quotes, and questionable rotations have been well-documented. But there may be a way out.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said that he could see the Pistons and Lakers swapping coaches, bringing the recently fired Darvin Ham to Detroit. Williams could go back to coaching a contender as opposed to the rebuilding Pistons, which may be preferred. Ham would get a shot to reestablish himself following the exit from Los Angeles and has playoff experience.
How would you feel about swapping Monty Williams for Darvin Ham? Let us know.
Chauncy Billups, Head Coach?
Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated said that teams are monitoring Chauncy Billups’ situation in Portland, as the organization may look to move on from him.
If Detroit moves on from Williams, perhaps they could bring in the Pistons legend to be the Head Coach. That would certainly get fans excited, even if Billups doesn’t have too much success as a coach just yet.
Trae Young Leaves Clutch
Normally, players changing agents is not a big deal. But Trae Young, who was named as a potential Pistons trade target, is leaving Klutch Sports and joining Aaron Mintz of CAA. Klutch has deep ties to the Los Angeles Lakers, who were also interested in trading for Young. With him leaving Klutch, that all but eliminates the Lakers as a possible destination. The odds of the Pistons being able to trade for Young improve, even if it’s slightly.
That’ll do it for this week’s Weekly Drive. Make sure to check out Palace of Pistons on social (linked below) and take a listen to last week’s podcast.
Mike
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