With the NBA Trade Deadline only two weeks away, it means that we are already at the midway point of the 2023-24 regular season. Every team has played at least 41 games, so we have a good idea of what their season is going to turn into.
There are clear-cut NBA Finals contenders and playoff contenders who can rise to that level with a move or two. At the other end of the spectrum, some teams have already turned an eye toward the 2024 offseason and will be selling ahead of the deadline and have no real chance at making the postseason.
One of the teams who fall into the latter is the Detroit Pistons. Loaded with young talent and with Monty Williams taking over as head coach on a historic contract, there was some optimism that this season could be the one we start to see a corner being turned in Detroit.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Monty Williams, Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons Updates
With several lottery picks and some solid veterans sprinkled in, it wouldn’t have surprised anyone if the Pistons challenged for a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament. While no one was expecting a title contender in the Motor City, even the most cynical of predictors could not have seen this trainwreck coming.
Detroit has the worst record in the NBA at 5-39, which is a .119 winning percentage. They are one of three teams that have yet to win double-digit games, along with the 7-36 Washington Wizards and 8-38 San Antonio Spurs.
While none of those teams are having spectacular seasons, only one of them had a record-setting losing streak during the campaign. That, in large part, is why the Pistons were the only franchise in the NBA to receive an F grade for the first half of the season.
“Before the season, all indicators pointed toward Detroit improving on last season’s league-low 17 wins. The Pistons had been more competitive than their record in terms of point differential and had former No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham returning from surgery that limited him to 12 games. Detroit has instead been a mess under new coach Monty Williams, who hasn’t put the mismatched players on the roster in position to develop. The Pistons will likely regress to the mean enough in the second half to avoid topping the NBA record of 73 losses, but the bar should have been set far higher than that,” Kevin Pelton of ESPN wrote.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Monty Williams, Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons Updates
An argument can be made that the Pistons are the most disappointing team in the NBA this season. Even without exorbitant expectations placed on them, they have fallen woefully short.
With a head coach who signed the richest contract in league history and a young roster not taking as many strides as ownership had hoped, this is a franchise currently stuck. Even with another top lottery pick on the way, there isn’t much to get excited about when it comes to Detroit basketball.
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