That’s a good and also terrifying question. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was a starter for the Pistons but has fallen out of the starting lineup with the Lakers by now, Greg Monroe was a 6th man with the Bucks before they decided they didn’t want him anymore, Brandon Knight was good for a couple of years as well before injuries derailed him.

Still, the last guy to not only become a starter, but become a starting caliber player into his second contract with the Pistons (other than Drummond)? Probably Rodney Stuckey? It’s not good. A staple of many good teams is developing their own guys and the Pistons have been terrible at it.

When the Pistons selected Bruce Brown with the 42nd overall pick he was seen, largely, as a project player. Good potential, but very raw. However, he has vaulted his way into the starting lineup and it has mostly worked.

All season Dwane Casey has struggled to find a starting lineup that could consistently produce, while the sample size is still not that large, the starting lineup with Brown is eye-popping. In 116 minutes, the lineup with Reggie Jackson, Bruce Brown, Reggie Bullock, Blake Griffin, and Andre Drummond has been spectacular. Scoring 111.1 points per 100 possessions and allowing just 98.7 points per 100 possessions for a excellent net rating of +12.4. These numbers stand out even further when compared with the Pistons overall numbers this season. As a team the Pistons offensive efficiency is just 105.8 and defensive efficiency of 107.9.

Some of the larger numbers for Brown here remain not pretty. Overall the Pistons are -4.3 per 100 possessions with Brown on the floo, worst among all regular rotation players other than Glenn Robinson, and many of his other lineups have been terrible. Top that off with that his individual numbers remain abysmal overall, 39% from the field and just 24% from deep and not a high assist rate, there is good reason to be skeptical of Brown’s long-term staying power as a starter this season.

That is not the point here however. Brown’s long-term viability as a starter is another conversation. The point here is that he’s much better than expected, and is showing quick improvements to his game. So even if he ends up not being ready this season, he may be ready sooner rather than later.





Isn’t it a bit over the top to suggest that him becoming a starting caliber player would save the Pistons though?

The Pistons are comically weak on the wing, especially in two-way guys. And their best current wing, Reggie Bullock, is a free agent after this season and may cost too much for them to retain even if he wants to stay. Stanley Johnson is also a free agent (though restricted) but he’s started his annual mid-season flame-out. There is a very good chance that both Johnson and Bullock are off the team next season, and the Pistons only real options for a pair of starting spots on the wing will be someone already on the roster, a veteran making the minimum, or the mid-level exception. And remember that they also need to pay a point guard since Ish Smith is a free agent as well.

The truly scariest scenario for this Pistons crew is the fact that, as much as the team around Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond has failed this season, it could very easily get much worse next season and the Pistons salary situation could make them almost powerless to avoid total disaster. Therefore, Brown (or Khyri Thomas, or whoever they draft next season) becoming a starting-caliber player could well end up saving the Pistons.





Ok that’s fair. So what are the improvements you see?

Lets start with the obvious. Brown’s defense is already at a very good level, I’m not going to spend too much time on this because it’s talked about plenty. He is strong, fast, bouncy, and fearless.