Detroit vs Everybody | Detroit Pistons MyLeague Journey | NBA 2K20

[JoshNormanMane]

Detroit vs Everybody
The Prequel
Season 3
Episode 3

Nicholson + Roberson.jpg
Detroit hosts Gerald Nicholson (left) and Amir Roberson (right) for a final private pre-draft workout mere days before the 2022 NBA Draft.
Date: 6/19/2022

Ahead of the 2022 NBA Draft, Detroit hosted Gerald Nicholson (Center, Florida St.) and Amir Roberson (Center, Kentucky) for private workouts to see which big man can separate themselves from the other. What made this decision even tougher was that Nicholson and Roberson have far different archetypes / strengths and weaknesses.

A few days out from the draft, we as a front office decided not to evaluate the two big men but instead evaluate the players they’d be playing against. If Detroit wants to make noise in the Eastern Conference, we’ll have to go through players like Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetounkmpo and whatever other big man unexpectedly forms a superteam in the East next.

Gerald Nicholson possesses the skill set to be the anchor of an elite defense and at-worst significantly slow down the elite big men in the association. Add in that he’d give Sidney Cross and Jamie Courville a legitimate lob threat, it’s clear that Nicholson is the clear selection if he makes it to #7 Overall.

However, Detroit has been fielding calls from other teams who pick later in the lottery to see what kind of assets they can collect if they trade back.

The most aggressive team attempting to trade up is the Dallas Mavericks who missed the playoffs after acquiring Paul George. It’s rumored the Mavericks are targeting Keon Wallace, Forward from Michigan in order to give the team a rangy-lockdown defensive player. The Mavericks believe Wallace won't be on the board at #10 and are motivated to get a deal done.

It’s possible that Detroit takes advantage of Dallas’s aggressiveness and takes a gamble on Gerald Nicholson being available at #10 but the franchise will maul the offer and will wait until the day of the draft whether they want to pull the trigger on this deal or not.

One team not waiting until the day of the draft to pull the trigger on a big trade is the Portland Trail Blazers. It’s not the trade you think, as Portland has made it crystal clear that Damian Lillard is not going anywhere. C.J McCollum on the other hand was the subject of many trade talks heading into the draft.

Portland will send C.J McCollum to a familiar foe in the Western Conference which will help bolster that team’s already elite offense heading into next season.

Denver Nuggets Receive: C.J McCollum
Portland Trail Blazers Receive: Spencer Nixon (G), Rights to #22 Overall Selection

On the surface, Denver pays a fair price for McCollum by trading their 2021 1st Round Draft Pick, Spencer Nixon and their #22 Selection in the 2022 Draft. Nixon is a sharpshooter who couldn’t stay on the floor for the Nuggets due to his defensive woes. With McCollum’s arrival in Denver this could mean that Michael Porter Jr will not be retained as he hits restricted free agency this offseason.

2022 NBA Draft - Notable Selections
Pick	Team	Player	Pos	Ht	Wt
1	Sacramento Kings	Marcel Hampton	SF	6'10	231
2	New York Knicks	Mateo Delgado	SF	6'10	220
3	Portland Trail Blazers	Nico Harrington	PG	6'6	215
4	Charlotte Hornets	Jacob Kuksiks	PG	6'6	206
5	Washington Wizards	Nathan Sirven	C	7'1	258
6	Orlando Magic	Sterling Weems	PG	5'9	171
7	Dallas Mavericks (via Detroit)	Keon Wallace	PF	6'9	236
8	Oklahoma City Thunder	Jontay Taylor	SF	6'8	209
9	Brooklyn Nets	Gerald Nicholson	C	6'11	238
10	Detroit Pistons (via Dallas)	Amir Roberson	C	7'0	215
11	Cleveland Cavaliers	Shane Ruffin	SG	6'3	192
12	Washington Wizards (via Golden State)	Qyntel Mason	PG	6'2	203
13	Phoenix Suns	Clifton Yates	SF	6'6	212
14	Minnesota Timberwolves	Gideon Delk	SG	6'6	219
15	Boston Celtics	Caron Theus	PF	6'10	232
16	Memphis Grizzlies	Levi Franco	SG	6'5	203
18	San Antonio Spurs	Tyshawn Drew II	PG	6'2	180
19	Philadelphia 76ers	A.J Naulls	PG	6'4	190
20	Oklahoma City Thunder	Jared Jennings	C	6'10	255
22	Portland Trail Blazers (via Denver)	Bruno Sosa	SG	6'5	205
24	Oklahoma City Thunder (via LAC)	William Flowers	PG	6'4	206
25	Houston Rockets	Leon Sikes	SG	6'5	202
28	Detroit Pistons (via Atlanta)	Darius Stith	SG	6'6	206
29	Utah Jazz	Cameron Kabongo	PF	6'9	217
31	San Antonio Spurs (via Washington)	Marco Stefansson	SG	6'7	200
32	Sacramento Kings	Nefi Diop	C	7'2	270
33	Charlotte Hornets	Trevon Dejean-Jones	PF	6'9	224
40	Detroit Pistons (via Dallas)	Jovan Ilic	SG	6'4	200
41	Detroit Pistons (via Cleveland)	Camron Poole	PG	6'3	188
43	Philadelphia 76ers	Cassius Drexler	SF	6'9	226

Draft Recap: Detroit

We got too greedy, plain and simple.

Gerald Nicholson was available for the taking at #7 Overall and we wound up taking Dallas’s offer of the #10 Overall Selection, #40 Overall Selection, and one additional future Second Round Draft Pick. There was a strong belief and confidence around the organization that Nicholson would still be available.

The Brooklyn Nets weren’t projected to select Nicholson at #9 Overall as they recently inked Center Jarrett Allen to a 4-year extension. With the tumultuous offseason ahead for Brooklyn after missing the playoffs the last three seasons along with both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving hitting unrestricted free agency, the Nets opted to select the best player available regardless of fit.

The Pistons drafted the Center out of Kentucky, Amir Roberson with the #10 Overall Selection. Roberson was the #2 prospect on our big board due to his potent offensive skill set at such a young age. The reason Roberson was available at #10 were due to the injuries he fought through while at Kentucky. The organization will bring Roberson along slowly as he acclimates to the grind of an NBA season.

The lottery concluded and we noticed Darius Stith still on the board. We remained patient as trading up into the late-teens would have been a hefty price. As picks in the 20’s began, Stith continued to be passed on by team after team.

Finally, Detroit made an aggressive offer to Atlanta who held the 28th Overall Selection in order to select Darius Stith, Wing from Texas. The Pistons gave up their own #35 selection along with 2-future 2nd Round Picks and taking back Andre Iguodala’s $9 Million dollar salary (who will be bought out ahead of Free Agency).

Needless to say, selecting Darius Stith outside the lottery would have been a steal. Selecting him at #28 Overall is a heist and egregious to say the least. Stith possesses a valuable 3&D skill set. Offensively he operated a lot with the ball in his hands at Texas but is more comfortable spotting up and cutting to the basket. Defensively, he struggled against bigger forwards but can be a lockdown option against wings that match his size.

With our #40 and #41 Draft Selections in Round 2, we selected Jovan Ilic and Camron Poole.

Jovan Ilic is a 20-Year-Old Combo Guard from Serbia. He has a blossoming 3-Level offensive game paired with a quick first-step and a sturdy 6’4 frame. Ilic inked a 2-Year deal with the KK Crvena Zvezda team of the ABA ahead of this year’s draft. We’ll evaluate whether he’ll come to the U.S or not when his contract is set to expire.

Camron Poole is a 3-Year Junior Guard from Florida State (who was teammates with Nicholson for a season in Tallahassee). Poole is a cerebral point guard who is the typical ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ kind of point guard that has a well-rounded arsenal and floor general ability but lacks one elite skill to separate himself. Poole will begin the season with free-reign in the G-League as we begin to evaluate him at the next level.

2022 NBA Draft DET.jpg
From Left to Right: Amir Roberson, Darius Stith, Jovan Ilic, Camron Poole

Draft Recap: Everyone

With Sacramento’s 1st, First Overall Selection since 1989, The Kings selected Marcel Hampton. Hampton will slide into the starting Small Forward spot on Day-One and will help Sacramento work towards clinching their first postseason appearance since 2006.

In New York, the Knicks opt to select Mateo Delgado to add to their young core of big wings / forwards. With R.J Barrett set to hit restricted free agency next year, the Knicks have options in case they want to make the swingman from Duke available to other teams.

Portland adds Nico Harrington to wait in the wings behind Damian Lillard and develop last year’s #1 Overall Selection Jason Sanders and Bruno Sosa who could develop into a nice secondary playmaker.

The bold move of the draft comes from Charlotte after taking Jacob Kuksiks #4 Overall. The franchise fell in love with Nico Harrington but failed to trade up to select him so they settled with the other 6’6 Floor General on the board. With their #32 selection, they selected a first-round talent in Trevon Dejean-Jones who’ll be a great vertical lob threat to slot alongside the Hornet guards.

In only two seasons since their official rebuild kicked off, the Oklahoma City Thunder have compiled a nice core of players after selecting Jontay Taylor and Javon Shumpert 8th Overall in the last two drafts along with nabbing Jared Jennings with a draft-day trade with New Orleans and William Flowers with their selection from the Clippers. Add in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Julius Randle into the mix and the Thunder may not be rebuilding for much longer.

2022 Draft 1.jpg
From Left to Right: Marcel Hampton, Mateo Delgado, Nico Harrington, Nathan Sirven
2022 Draft 2.jpg
From Left to Right: Sterling Weems, Qyntel Mason, Caron Theus, A.J Naulls

[JoshNormanMane]

Detroit vs Everybody
The Prequel
Season 3
Episode 3 Continued

Motor City Mindset.jpg

Free Agency Preview: Detroit

We’ve started to build a good foundation despite the lack of victories on our record.

Our goal for this coming season is to compete for a spot in the playoffs and we’ll be targeting players who fit at least 2 of the following 3 player-molds.

1. Players who are high character and sacrifice for the betterment of the team.
2. Players who’ve proven that they are winners and contribute to success at the NBA level.
3. Players who are close to piecing their game together and poised to break out.

Detroit currently has a roster of players that only fit 1 out of the 3 player-molds.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist fits Mold #1 as a high-character vet but couldn’t contribute to consistent success during his time in Charlotte. Sidney Cross, Jamie Courville, and Sekou Doumbouya all apply for Mold #3 as they are so close to putting it all-together but have never experienced playing for a winning franchise.

A player that fits 2 or all 3 player-molds will help our team culture improve, help our young players improve and stay accountable, and hopefully help our team record improve.

Unfortunately, a player that fits all 3 molds is likely extremely-sought after, out of our price range, and/or not interested in playing in Detroit. Our front office is evaluating which free agents could fit exactly what we’re looking for.

However, before we begin making offers to outside players, we need to evaluate our own roster and identify which players are projects that we should continue to invest into and should stop investing into, especially with 3-new rookies joining our roster.

Deividas Sirvydis: Sirvydis was drafted by the previous regime in Detroit with the #37 selection in 2019. Sirvydis stands out with his 6’8 frame, fluidity and shooting stroke which he has put to good use in the G-League. However, against NBA competition he lacks the bulk, consistency, and defense to make the most of his talent.

Result: Sirvydis will not have his 3rd-Year Team Option exercised. We’ll let him test the market to sign on with a new team and will not rule out bringing him back on a Two-Way contract.

Jordan Bone: Bone is a draft pick of the previous regime as well (57th selection in 2019) and showed enough promise to sign a 3-year deal with our current regime in the 2020 offseason. Bone started 23 games last season and showed good defensive intensity and an ability to hit while wide-open from downtown.

Result: Bone will have his 3rd-Year Team Option picked up but will be traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for a future top-50 protected Second Round Draft Pick. At 24-years old, it’s unlikely Bone develops any further.

Kellan Stewart: Stewart was our 54th selection in last year’s draft. Stewart only suited up for 12-games last season towards the end of the season and shot 43% from 3-point on an extremely small sample size of 14 3-point attempts.

Result: Stewart will have the option to hit the open market in case he can find a team to offer him an active roster spot. However, with the small sample size he has in the league and his struggles defending in the G-League, it’s extremely likely he’s back with Detroit on a two-way contract again.

Christian Wood: Wood is coming off the best season of his career, posting 16 points and 8 rebounds per night with an EFG of 53%. Entering his contract season at 26-years old, Wood’s value may never be higher than it is now. When he hits unrestricted free agency next year, it’s likely we’ll have to overpay in order to keep him.

Result: We’re keeping him…… for now. If we receive an offer from a team that blows us away, then we’ll be willing to move him. As of right now, Wood provides insurance for Amir Roberson to be slowly brought along. Also, Stretch-Fives who are great rebounders are not easily found in the NBA at this stage.

Jakob Poeltl: After trading for Poeltl at this past season's trade deadline, he gave us an interior presence that we were missing. However, the only value Poeltl returned was in the form of interior defense as he was one of the worst centers in the entire league, only converting on 45% of his shots inside the paint.

Result: Poeltl informed Detroit that he would not be re-signing after the team drafted Roberson and kept Wood. It's hard to argue that this iteration of Poeltl would be anything more than our 3rd big, so we'll respect his decision while he tries to rebuild his value in the league.

Heading into Free Agency now, we surveyed the field and began making offers to players.

Offer #1: Detroit offered RFA, Michael Porter Jr a 4-Year, $98 Million contract. Porter is extremely close to putting it all together and blossoming into a great player. He had a down season, only shooting 42% from the field and 30% from 3, which meant he didn’t close a lot of games for the Denver Nuggets. Lucky for us, interest was mutual as he would receive a lot more touches and opportunities to grow in Detroit.

Result: Denver matched our offer. In hindsight, this offer most likely didn’t make Denver contemplate whether to match or not as it was far under the max-line. However, with big salaries committed to Jokic, Murray and McCollum, we’ll see if Porter becomes available in a year or two.

Offer #2: We turned our attention to Aaron Holiday. Holiday was a focal bench player of the Pacers and played ample minutes in their last two postseason runs. With his experience of being part of a winning culture, we made a 3-Year, $28 Million offer.

Result: Denver strikes again and matches our 3-Year, $28 Million dollar offer in which Holiday promptly accepts. Unfortunately, young role players with ample options are not actively looking to sign with Detroit.

Offer #3: Detroit is still seeking a veteran point guard who can serve as a mentor for Cross and Courville. With that in mind, we made a 3-Year, $35 Million offer to Tomas Satoransky who came off a year as a backup to Westbrook in Phoenix. Sato has great size at 6’5 and will be able to keep the offense running efficiently when our young guards are on the bench.

Result: Tomas Satoransky accepts our 3-Year offer as Denver is nowhere to be found.

Offer #4: Once again, we turn our attention back to a player who could break out if they receive an opportunity. Former 2020 1st Round Draft Pick out of Texas, Mike Labron did not have his 3rd-Year option exercised by the Boston Celtics. Labron drew comparisons to Thomas Bryant, as he has a good motor and outside shot but below-average defensive ability. We offered a 3-Year, $12 Million contract.

Result: Labron accepts our 3-Year, $12 Million offer (Team Option in Year 3). Labron will compete with Roberson for minutes at the backup 5 to begin the season.

Offers #5 & #6: Ahead of Summer League we make a couple Two-Way contract offers. First offer is to a familiar face in Kellen Stewart who drew little-to-no interest around the league. A bottom dweller like Detroit is still his best way to receive minutes in the league at this stage. Our second offer is to the New York Knicks former 2020 Second Round Draft Pick out of Houston, Antonio Peters Jr who drew comparisons to Kent Bazemore due to his length and athleticism but has struggled shooting the ball thus far into his career. Peters was allowed to test the open market and see if he could find a new situation that would offer him more opportunity.

Result: Both Kellen Stewart and Antonio Peters Jr accept Two-Way contracts with Detroit.

Offer #7: Our last offer of Free Agency is made to a familiar face. Blake Griffin struck out on receiving an attractive offer from a playoff time like he had hoped. Even though Detroit is still not a projected playoff team, we offered Griffin a 3-Year, $39 Million contract to return to the team.

Result: Blake Griffin accepts our 3-Year, $39 Million contract. Griffin is a proven veteran in our locker room and will hopefully help us make our return to the postseason.

2022 NBA FA DET.jpg
From Left to Right: Antonio Peters Jr, Tomas Satoransky, Mike Labron

Detroit Free Agency Summary

Offers Accepted
Tomas Satoransky (PG): 3-Year, $35 Million
Blake Griffin (PF): 3-Year, $39 Million (Re-Signing)
Mike Labron (B): 3-Year, $12 Million (Team Option in Yr 3)
Kellen Stewart (PF): 1-Year, $1.88 Million (Two-Way)
Antonio Peters Jr (SF): 1-Year, $1.88 Million (Two-Way)

Offers Rejected
Michael Porter Jr (SF): 4-Year, $98 Million (DEN)
Aaron Holiday (PG): 3-Year, $28 Million (DEN)

Free Agency: Everyone

Notable Re-Signings

James Harden re-signs w/ CHI - 3 Yr / $145M (Player Option in Yr 3)
Luka Doncic re-signs w/ DAL - 5 Yr / $200M (Player Option in Yr 5)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander re-signs w/ OKC - 4 Yr / $140M
Deandre Ayton re-signs w/ PHX - 4 Yr / $130M
Marvin Bagley re-signs w/ SAC - 4 Yr / $74M
Lonnie Walker re-signs w/ SAS - 4 Yr / $56M
Daniel Gafford re-signs w/ BKN - 1 Yr / $2.5M
Amir Coffey re-signs w/ UTA - 1 Yr / $1.91M

Notable Signings Around the League

Kevin Durant to San Antonio - 4 Yr / $200M (Team Option in Yr 4)
Kyrie Irving to Los Angeles Clippers - 4 Yr / $170M
Russell Westbrook to Toronto - 4 Yr / $170M
Jalen Brunson to Miluwakee - 4 Yr / $90M
Marcus Smart to Phoenix - 4 Yr / $90M
Mitchell Robinson to Cleveland - 4 Yr / $84M
Wendell Carter to Charlotte - 4 Yr / $80M
Jonathan Issac to Indiana - 4 Yr / $72M
Collin Sexton to Dallas - 4Yr / $54M (Player Option in Yr 4)
Gary Harris to Philadelphia - 4 Yr / $52M
Robert Covington to Phoenix - 3 Yr / $50M
Terry Rozier to Cleveland - 2 Yr / $30M
John Wall to Memphis Grizzlies - 2 Yr / $16M
T.J Warren to Los Angeles Lakers - 2 Yr / $18M
P.J Tucker to Los Angeles Lakers - 1 Yr / $7M
Jakob Poetl to Cleveland - 1 Yr / $7M
Deividas Sirvydis to Washington - 1 Yr / $1.8M

Notable Trades

Dallas Mavericks Receive: Fred Van Vleet (1 Yr / $18M)
Toronto Raptors Receive: Future 1st Round Draft Pick

Philadelphia 76ers Receive: Joe Harris (2 Yr / $32M)
Chicago Bulls Receive: Future 2nd Round Draft Pick Swap

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving missed the postseason in all 3-seasons they were in Brooklyn and while it’s up for debate if there should be an asterisk next to this statistic since Durant missed his first season with a Torn Achilles and Kyrie missed the majority of his second season with a Torn ACL, both players and the franchise are at odds whether they wanted to continue the marriage.

With the scrutiny from the media that a team with KD & Kyrie will receive along with the toxicity forming in the locker room, both stars opted to depart to new franchises to have a fresh start.

After coming up short in the NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs signed Kevin Durant to a 4-Year, $200 Million dollar deal after he received confirmation from Greg Popovich that he’ll coach the team for one more season before joining the Front Office in a consultant role.

One year after winning their lone championship in franchise history and having their core depart in Free Agency, the Los Angeles Clippers signed Kyrie Irving to a 4-Year, $170 Million contract. The Clippers remain adamant on not rebuilding as they still owe draft picks to OKC and will put up with any future headache Kyrie causes as long as it translates to victories.

The Phoenix Suns declined to match the Raptor’s offer for Russell Westbrook after just one year in the desert. The Suns missed the playoffs for another season and opted to re-sign Deandre Ayton and bring in both Marcus Smart & Robert Covington. The situation in Phoenix will be monitored as Devin Booker is growing frustrated with the franchise continually missing the postseason.

The Suns loss is the Toronto Raptor’s gain as they bring in Russell Westbrook in a surprising move to play the 2-Guard alongside Kyle Lowry, Brandon Ingram, and Pascal Siakam. With the addition of Westbrook, Toronto shipped out Fred Van Vleet to Dallas after 8-years with the franchise.

The Cleveland Cavaliers bolstered their team by adding Mitchell Robinson and Terry Rozier. The Philadelphia 76ers made a pair of good moves by signing Gary Harris and trading for Joe Harris to put alongside Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Finally, Jalen Brunson signed with the Milwaukee Bucks exactly one year after the team lost Giannis Antetoukunmpo.

The 2022 Offseason has concluded and a lot of teams in the association, specifically the Eastern Conference improved their roster. Detroit will have to wait and see if the moves they made will significantly move them closer towards playoff contention.

WALL KD CJ.jpg
New Faces on New Teams in the Association

[JoshNormanMane]

Series Update

With the conclusion of the 2022 Offseason, there will only 5 more season recaps of this format before I get into updates in real-time of the league heading into the trade deadline of the 2027-2028 season.

In the series, the next 4-draft classes used are JB's NBA 2K20 DC-4, DC-5, DC-1 and DC-6 in that order. Why I used his classes out of order? I am not sure, but we'll roll with it. After those draft classes, the universe begins having my own custom classes incorporated which I'll write scouting reports for ahead of time.

Before getting into real-time updates, I'll put together a post summarizing the impact players, overall notable players, and busts of each draft class since these posts have been broad recaps for the most part.

Thanks to anyone reading so far, if anyone has feedback feel free to share. I'm excited to keep going and tell the story of these Detroit Pistons.

[RMJH4]

Lots of changes on your roster after draft. Glad to see you resigned Blake.

[JoshNormanMane]

Detroit vs Everybody
The Prequel
Season 4
Episode 1

The Detroit Pistons enter the 2022-2023 Season with key changes in their starting lineup.

Our #30 Selection in the 2020 Draft from the University of Minnesota, Simmie Jefferson is poised to begin the season as the starting Small Forward. Enough good things can’t be said about Simmie as he’s the ultimate teamplayer whose effort won’t change whether he’s starting and getting 20-shot attempts or playing 5-minutes off the bench and only shooting 1 or 2 shots.

Our #15 Selection in the 2019 Draft, Sekou Doumbouya has finally slotted into the full-time Power Forward position ahead of Blake Griffin. While still raw offensively, Doumbouya has improved every year he’s been in the league. He’s become a borderline elite help-defender and league average 3-Point shooter. If he’s able to put together a good season, he could receive a good payday in the upcoming offseason.

Over the past 3-years we’ve carefully selected which players we want to bring into the organization and develop from our draft selections to the veterans we’ve signed in free agency. Our goal now as an organization is to work towards postseason contention and hope the culture we’ve built will now translate into victories.

2022-2023 DET Opening Day Lineup.jpg
From Left to Right: Sidney Cross (G), Jamie Courville (G), Simmie Jefferson (F), Sekou Doumbouya (F), Christian Wood (C)

The Detroit Pistons started the 2022-2023 Season……

drum roll

0-14

Zero Wins, Fourteen Losses.

This is our worst start to a season since taking over the Pistons.

The first game of the season, the Pistons drew an unlucky matchup of facing the 2022 NBA Champion Chicago Bulls which would be a good test to begin the year. The Pistons lost by 40-points in a game in which both Giannis Antetounkmpo and James Harden scored 30-points.

Things went bad to worse as Christian Wood demanded a trade after a poor start to the year which included bumping heads with Head Coach, Dwayne Casey over his playing time and role on the team.

As a front office we saw that the First-Best time to trade Christian Wood was last summer when he was at the peak of his value coming off a season where he averaged 16-Points, 8 Rebounds season and shot 36% from 3. The Second-Best time to trade Wood is now.

His value had diminished extremely and most teams weren’t offering any form of young player and draft compensation combination. Our best offer came from the San Antonio Spurs who believed Wood would provide immense value coming off the bench for a team fresh off an NBA Finals appearance and signing Kevin Durant.

Detroit Pistons Receive: Rodney McGruder (G), 2026 Second Round Draft Pick
San Antonio Spurs Receive: Christian Wood

Next order of business was to relieve Dwayne Casey of his Head Coach responsibilities.

The organization’s goal was to begin postseason contention. Casey not only started 0-14 but lost the locker room in the process.

The Interim Head Coach for the remainder of the season will be Casey’s top assistant Danny Speith. Speith was a former 4-Year Point Guard for the Delaware Blue Hens before joining the coaching ranks where he served as an assistant coach on the staffs of Kent State, Central Michigan and Michigan State over the next decade before making it to the NBA-level with the Pistons.

Danny Speith.jpg
Interim Head Coach Danny Speith and Head Assistant Keon Ingram on the sideline
Date: 1/6/2023

The next domino wouldn’t wait much longer to fall as Sekou Doumbouya informed the Front Office that he would not re-sign with the team when he hits free agency. Doumbouya hasn’t won more than 30-Games since entering the league and that most likely wasn’t going to change this season. Add the fact that the Pistons would add another top-5 draft selection that’ll bump down his role in the offense again and it’s easy to see why he grew frustrated in Detroit.

Similar to the Christian Wood situation, Detroit did not want to roster prisoners, we only wanted volunteers. Since Sekou Doumbouya requested to leave the organization, we would grant his request at the trade deadline.

Detroit Pistons Receive: 2023 First Round Draft Pick (Top-12 Protected)
Milwaukee Bucks Receive: Sekou Doumbouya, Future 2nd Round Draft Pick (via LAL)
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Evan Fournier (from MIL)

With the Miluwakee Bucks right on the playoff cusp, they add a valuable and versatile defender with the option of re-signing him this coming offseason. If the Buck’s pick falls into the Top 12, the Pistons will receive 2 Future Second Round Draft Picks.

Detroit decided to sign Kobi Simmons with their newly open roster spot to a 2-Year, $5 Million dollar deal which included a Team Option for the 2nd Year. Simmons has had stops in Minnesota, Charlotte, Cleveland, and Memphis but never managed to find a consistent role for any team thus far. With Detroit, he’ll be given an opportunity to settle into a go-to scorer role coming off the bench while giving the team another positive veteran voice in the locker room.

2023 DET Moves.jpg
From Left to Right: Rodney McGruder (G), Christian Wood (C), Sekou Doumbouya (F), Kobi Simmons (G)

The Pistons ultimately went on to finish the season 26-56, 2-wins worse than last season. After beginning the season 0-14, Interim Head Coach Danny Speith closes out his first season as a head coach at any level 26-42.

This was far from an ideal season for Detroit but there were a few bright spots to hold onto.

Our 2022 First Round Draft Picks, Amir Roberson and Darius Stith both were named to the All-Rookie 2nd Team.

Amir Roberson appeared in 75 Games and posted 9 Points, 5 Rebounds and 3 Assists per game. Roberson showed that he was amongst the top passing big men (not named Nikola Jokic) just as a rookie while having a formidable back-to-basket post game. Where Roberson needs improvement heading into Year Two is his defensive rotations and overall aggressiveness on both ends of the floor.

Darius Stith was a consistent mainstay in the rotation all year, appearing in all 82 Games. Stith’s defensive instincts and tenacity translated to the league starting on Day-One as he gave Detroit a hellish lockdown trio of wings alongside Simmie Jefferson and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Stith managed to only shoot 30% from behind the arc while having a below-league average True Shooting percentage of 51%. Heading into Year Two, his shooting splits must improve so he can make the defense pay when they sag off of him.

Bringing back Blake Griffin proved to be valuable as he was a vocal catalyst in helping the Pistons overcome the turmoil that came with their 0-14 start to the season. Griffin will never be his lob city self again but still found a way to produce to the tune of 15 Points, 5 Rebounds, 4 Assists and 34% shooting from behind the arc.

Our backcourt of Sidney Cross and Jamie Courville are still chasing the Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars comparisons.

Sidney Cross continues to showcase his value as a lead ball-handler in the offense to break down defenses and create easy scoring opportunities for his teammates. However, Cross hit a sophomore slump which saw a dip in his shooting splits across the board while turning the ball at a higher rate. Cross’s shooting was emphasized heading into Year Two as his ability to make shots will open up the offense when he’s playing off the ball.

Jamie Courville maintained his 20-Point scorer status in his 3rd season while achieving a league average True Shooting Percentage of 57%. The addition of Cross has tremendously helped Courville thrive in his combo guard role as the franchise has been made fun of significantly less for selecting him #2 Overall after the season he put together. An underrated facet has been Courville’s availability as he has only missed 3-Games in 3 Seasons.

This is far from the season that the franchise was expecting. However, the positives remain that Jamie Courville and Sidney Cross are on the trajectory to emerge into legitimate All-Star guards while the other recent young players drafted have showcased potential to carve out nice careers in the league.

The Pistons are slated to select within the Top-5 yet again and will hope to finally take the leap towards postseason contention status.

Griffin + Stith.jpg
Left: Blake Griffin faces up Markelle Fultz in the post before shooting over him.
Right: Darius Stith blows past Dusan Cvetkovic on the way to the rim.

Season Recap: Everybody

Many teams around the association made high-profile marquee moves this past offseason in order to compete for the Larry O’Brien championship.

Last year’s champion Chicago Bulls was not one of those teams. The Bulls re-signed James Harden on a 4-Year deal and traded away sharpshooter Joe Harris who was instrumental to their championship run in order to duck the luxury tax.

The duo of James Harden and Giannis Antetounknmpo adopted an eerily similar dynamic that Kobe and Shaq had during their championship run. Giannis was motivated to keep winning and competing for championships which fueled him to win Defensive Player of the Year while Harden seemed content with his lone championship and entered the season out of shape (still dropped 30 on the Pistons on opening night).

The duo butted heads throughout the season and the Bulls suffered as a whole, only winning 47 Games and finishing 4th in the standings behind Toronto, Indiana and Philadelphia. Without home-court advantage after the first round, the Bulls path to a 2nd Championship became far more challenging.

The surprise team out East was the New York Knicks who won 46-Games and had two All-Stars in R.J Barrett (1st Appearance) and Devin Wilson (2nd Appearance).

3 Years later and it looks like Devin Wilson is the best player that came out of the 2020 NBA Draft. The New York Knicks are emerging as potential future title contenders and are slated to add yet another lottery pick courtesy of the Dallas Mavericks who owe their 1st Round Draft Pick from the Porzingis trade.

Out West, the San Antonio Spurs were the team most discussed over the past offseason. After making the NBA Finals as a 7th Seed, the Spurs went out and signed Kevin Durant to help put them over the top. Through the beginning of the season, they looked like the team to beat out West.

However, tragedy struck 34-Games into the season when Domantas Sabonis tore his right meniscus and required surgery. After a setback with the injury, Sabonis was ruled out for the remainder of the season. Behind Durant, Dejounte Murray, and newly acquired center Christian Wood, the Spurs won 46-Games and found themselves back in the playoffs but far less likely to recreate the magic they had one year ago.

The 1-Seed in the Western Conference belongs to the Portland Trail Blazers who won 57-Games (23-Win improvement from the previous season) after two straight seasons of finishing in the lottery. Damian Lillard showed that this year would be different as he put together a career-high 72 Points in November. Lillard would average 32.6 points per game on 50/40/90 splits and be named the NBA Most Valuable Player. His co-star Jason Sanders would bring home Most Improved honors after bumping his scoring average from 17-Points to 26-Points while having a TS% of 61%.

More Teams Trending Upwards
Memphis Grizzlies: 48-Win Season and First Playoff Berth in the Ja & Jaren era.
Toronto Raptors: Clinched the 1st Seed in the first season of the Westbrook era.
Indiana Pacers: Clinched the 2nd Seed behind Brogdon, Derozan, & Turner.

More Teams Trending Downwards
Atlanta Hawks: Went from the 1-Seed last year to barely clinching the 8-Seed this year.
Boston Celtics: Missed the playoffs entirely, Tatum was limited to just 57-Games.
Dallas Mavericks: Missed the playoffs for the 2nd Straight season behind Luka & PG13.
Phoenix Suns: Worst Team in the Association only winning 23 Games.

2022-2023 NBA Awards
Award	Player	Pos	Team
Most Valuable Player	Damian Lillard	PG	Portland Trail Blazers
Rookie of the Year	Nathan Sirven	C	Washington Wizards
Sixth Man of the Year	Terrence Ross	SG	Milwaukee Bucks
Defensive Player of the Year	Giannis Antekounmpo	PF	Chicago Bulls
Most Improved Player	Jason Sanders	SF	Portland Trail Blazers
Coach of the Year	Mike D'Antoni		Portland Trail Blazers

In the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Bulls would advance to their second straight Eastern Conference Finals, this time to face the Philadelphia 76ers. Both teams endured scrutiny from media members claiming that their star duos didn’t like each other, and it was time to blow it up.

In a highly contested 7-Game Series, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and the Philadelphia 76ers would advance to the 2023 NBA Finals. The 76ers received great timely offensive production from Mike Conley and the Harris Triplets (Tobias Harris, Joe Harris, and Gary Harris) all throughout the series which allowed Embiid and Simmons to mainly focus on neutralizing Giannis and Harden.

Coming off a drama-filled season and falling a game short once again of an NBA Finals appearance, many speculate that Giannis Antetouknmpo could opt out of his contract and explore his options. It’s hard to think there wouldn’t be a team in the association who would clear the cap space if they received a commitment from the Greek Freak that he would sign with them.

The Western Conference is usually known for being the powerhouse of the two conferences. Not this season as only two teams finished with over 50-victories which were the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers seemed poised to make a deep playoff run behind newly acquired Kyrie Irving joining a roster that won an NBA Title only two seasons ago. Lauri Markkanen was the perfect Robin before tearing his Achilles 66-games into the year. Due to the lack of top-end talent, the Clippers would get knocked out in Round One of the playoffs by Steph Curry and Bradley Beal Warriors.

In the Western Conference Finals, the other 50-Win Western Conference team, the Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers would face Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz. While Portland emerged as a title favorite this season, Utah has been in the title hunt for the last 3-seasons although coming up short of reaching the finals every season.

In a highly contested 6-Game series, the Portland Trail Blazers would advance to their first NBA Finals since 1992. Damian Lillard continued his career-best season into the playoffs but sophomore Jason Sanders was absolutely deadly in his first-ever postseason appearance.

The Portland Trail Blazers now await their date with the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Finals.

Philly vs Portland.jpg

[JoshNormanMane]

Detroit vs Everybody
The Prequel
Season 4
Episode 1 Continued

Embiid vs Dame.jpg
Joel Embiid and Damian Lillard rock the hoodies leading up to their Game 1 Matchup
Date: 6/1/2023

The 2023 NBA Finals is set to kick off between the Eastern Conference Champion Philadelphia 76ers and the Western Conference Champion Portland Trail Blazers. While both teams have had different paths over the last number of years to lead them to this point, many expected both teams to be vacationing in Cancun rather than playing for the Larry O’Brien in June.

The Philadelphia 76ers advance to their 2nd NBA Finals in 4-Years (Sixers lost 4-1 to the Lakers in 2020). Despite many media outlets claiming that it was time to break up Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, the Philadelphia Front Office decided to surround the duo with high basketball-IQ role players who had a knack of hitting timely shots.

The Portland Trail Blazers had a far more unlikely path to the NBA Finals after selecting Jason Sanders 1st Overall and Nico Harrington 3rd Overall in the last two NBA Drafts. Many were left questioning whether Portland should fully commit to the rebuild and trade Damian Lillard like they traded C.J McCollum. Dame came out and put together an MVP season while the next generation of Blazers acted as a formidable surrounding cast.

Many in the media predict a tight series with Philadelphia winning in 6-or-7 Games. The Sixers have battle tested veterans and their one rookie, A.J Naulls won a national championship with Sanders at Arizona St and would know better than most on how to gameplan to slow him down.

However, Portland has been an underdog all season long and the players surrounding Dame have stepped up all postseason. They shouldn’t be counted out until the buzzer sounds.

Harris Triplets.jpg
The Harris Triplets (Gary, Tobias, and Joe) combines for 56 Points and 11 made 3-Pointers in a March matchup against the Boston Celtics.
Date: 3/20/2023

Notable Philadelphia 76ers Players

• Gary Harris: SG / 28 Yrs Old / Signed from DEN in ‘22
• Joe Harris: SG / 31 Yrs Old / Traded from CHI in ‘22
• A.J Naulls: PG / 22 Yrs Old / Drafted from Arizona St in ‘22
• Mike Conley: PG / 35 Yrs Old / Traded from UTA in ‘21
• Matisse Thybulle: SG / 26 Yrs Old / Drafted from Washington in ‘19
• Tobias Harris: SF / 30 Yrs Old / Traded from LAC in ‘19
• Ben Simmons: PF / 26 Yrs Old / Drafted from LSU in ‘16
• Joel Embiid: C / 29 Yrs Old / Drafted from Kansas in ‘14

Notable Portland Trail Blazers Players

• Nico Harrington: PG / 20 Yrs Old / Drafted from Duke in ‘22
• Bruno Sosa: SG / 20 Yrs Old / Drafted from Kansas in ‘22
• Spencer Dinwiddie: PG / 30 Yrs Old / Traded from BKN in ‘22
• Spencer Nixon: SG / 21 Yrs Old / Traded from DEN in ‘22
• Jason Sanders: SF / 21 Yrs Old / Drafted from Arizona St in ‘21
• Jerami Grant: PF / 29 Yrs Old / Signed from DEN in ‘21
• Jusuf Nurkic: C / 29 Yrs Old / Traded from DEN in '17
• Damian Lillard: PG / 32 Yrs Old / Drafted from Weber St in ‘12

Dame Sanders.jpg
Left: Damian Lillard hits a massive 3 to tie the game.
Right: Jason Sanders freezes Tobias Harris and hits a 3 in his face.
Date: 6/10/2023

Simmons Embiid.jpg
Left: Ben Simmons blows past Nico Harrington for the emphatic slam.
Right: Joel Embiid comes up with the massive rebound with 3 Trail Blazers surrounding him.
Date: 6/10/2023

Series Result: Portland Trail Blazers Win 4-0

The Portland Trail Blazers win their first NBA Championship in 46 Years after sweeping the 76ers unexpectedly!

Damian Lillard caps off his career season by finally bringing a championship to Portland. Lillard was unconscious all postseason and he was no different in the NBA Finals as he put together an offensive masterclass en route to averaging 34 points including a 45-point Game 3 performance. Dame became just the 11th player in NBA History to be named MVP and Finals MVP in the same season.

The importance of the Portland supporting cast cannot be understated. Jerami Grant exceeded expectations after coming over from Denver in the 2022 Offseason. Grant shot 40% from behind the arc and shut down Tobias Harris across the 4-Game series. Jusuf Nurkic limited Embiid just enough to prevent Philadelphia from taking a game in the series. Enough can’t be said about the Sophomore, Jason Sanders who blossomed into a star just in his second year in the league. Sanders made Ben Simmons a non-factor on both ends of the floor and was an offensive juggernaut himself.

Portland has emerged as the team to beat in the association. With Jason Sanders and Nico Harrington only being 21 and 20 Years Old respectively, it seems like the Trail Blazers will have a reign of terror for a long-extended period of time.

Meanwhile, the morale of the Philadelphia 76ers is deflated. In 4-Years, the team has 2 NBA Finals Appearances and only won 1 Total NBA Finals Game to show for.

On paper this seemed like the year for Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to get the job done. They were facing a less experienced team that, on paper, did not have the defensive personnel to contain them. Simmons was non-existent on both ends of the floor and was outplayed by Sanders by a wide margin. Meanwhile, Embiid couldn’t meet his usual standard level of play in a series he should have excelled in.

Philadelphia heads into the offseason with a lot of question marks, the biggest one being whether it’s time to finally pull the plug on their star duo and trade Joel Embiid and/or Ben Simmons.

Love Sosa.jpg
Left: Bruno "Love" Sosa hoists the Larry O'Brien.
Right: Sosa hoists two bottles of champagne while Jason Sanders holds the Finals MVP Trophy.
Date: 6/10/2023

[JoshNormanMane]

Editors Note: Reuploaded this as I continue to play around with the format.

[JoshNormanMane]