Go through the gallery above to view Mike Curtis’ final grades for the 2022-23 Detroit Pistons. Click here if you’re having trouble viewing the gallery.
When the bulk of the Pistons’ current roster was assembled last offseason, expectations slowly increased, to the point where some believed they would be a participant in this season’s Play-In tournament, which concludes Friday night.
Las Vegas analysts projected Detroit to finish with around 27 wins — but that was with the anticipation that Cade Cunningham would be healthy for the entire season. After Cunningham’s sophomore season was cut short by injury, those same expectations went into the gutter, and development became a higher priority than the wins and losses.
The Pistons finished with a record of 17-65, the worst record in the NBA and the second-worst record in franchise history. Injuries to Cunningham, Marvin Bagley III and others were a key part of that outcome, along with subpar late-game execution and inexperience.
Dwane Casey stepped down as head coach after the final game of the regular season and announced his decision to accept a role in the Pistons’ front office, which leaves Troy Weaver with the opportunity to hand-pick his first head coach since being named general manager in 2020.
The coaching search moves to priority number one for the Pistons, who will have another top-five pick in the NBA Draft and a healthy amount of cap space to spend in free agency.
The development of first-round picks Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren served as a guiding light for the Pistons and their experience as focal pieces should bode well when they have a full complement of players next season.
These final grades reflect the performance of each player and their development from the beginning of the season, or when the player arrived in Detroit.
mcurtis@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @MikeACurtis2