A look back at the up and down season for Stanley Johnson.

Follow along with any and all stats on Basketball-Reference. Any stats not pulled directly from there will be otherwise noted.

Per-Game Stats: 8.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.4 steals. 37.5% from the field, 28.6% from three, 48% true shooting percentage while averaging 27.4 minutes per game.

Shot Chart

The Good

Stanley Johnson arrived in full force on the defensive side of the ball. For all of his offensive shortcomings (which we will get to, of course), he deserves real credit for his defensive progress. A lot of guys arrive in the NBA as teenagers with "all the tools" to be good defenders but never really make it. Johnson was the real deal this season -- he filled the Pistons' long-standing void by guarded four different positions effectively this season. He also put up a career-high in steals.

Other than his terrifying defensive presence, Johnson provided positive contributions on the offensive end this season. First off, even if it is more of a statement on how bad he's been offensively before this year, he did set career bests in points per game and true shooting percentage this season. Refusing to settle for mid-range jumpers than before, Johnson improved his scoring and shooting percentage by taking more of his shots inside where he was able to draw more fouls. During some stretches of the season, he became comfortable pushing the ball in transition, acting as a point-forward for the bench unit. His overall production was not any better as a reserve over the course of the season, but there was still something there.

His offensive skill set may not be as advanced as many would have hoped after three seasons in the league, but he is still showing enough flashes of his unique combination of size, speed, ball-handling, and passing to keep hope alive.

The Bad

Despite the flashes Johnson showed on the offensive end of the floor, his numbers remained somewhere between poor and downright terrible. Go up and look at that shot-chart again (above). Apart from finally becoming a respectable finisher at the hoop, his results were brutal. He shot poorly from everywhere, even from the corner three spots, which is a bad sign for his potential to become a passable shooter. To put it simply: Stanley Johnson cannot put the ball into the basket consistently enough. Other than in transition, there are hardly any situations where he approaches the league average with his shooting, and that makes it hard to justify keeping him on the floor playing significant minutes.

It's hard to understand because when you watch Johnson play, he clearly has way more talent than most defense-only types. Still, his results are barely distinguishable from guys like Tony Allen or Andre Roberson. So as much as we can say he passes some eye-tests and shows flashes of his potential, at some point he has to produce positive results on the floor. Having finished three years at the NBA level, it is now officially time to worry about Stanley Johnson.

Biggest Question?

The same one as last off-season: Can he find any way to make the ball go in the hoop consistently? Even if it isn't as a shooter (which would be the most helpful), he needs to score somehow -- whether as a driver to the hoop, a post-up brute, a pick-and-roll ball-handler, or a spot up guy. He has to get points somehow so he can be a reliable piece on offense.

Biggest Answer

His positive defensive performance. A lot of guys with Johnson's potential never become much better than just pretty good, but Johnson was near elite during stretches of this season. He can still use more consistency, but even if he never figures it out on offense, he will have a place in the NBA with his defensive contributions alone.

The Verdict

There were moments where Johnson was a real bright spot for the Pistons -- he was a very fun player at times. The problem is that those moments were just that, moments. I still believe Johnson can become useable enough on offense to be at least a heavy minutes rotation player, but that faith is undeniably shaken at this point.

Looking forward

Johnson has one more year on his rookie contract and how that final year goes will be fascinating. On one hand, there is still the chance that Johnson makes the leap and becomes awesome. On the other hand, the Pistons have to be wise with the money they pay guys at this point, and if Johnson doesn't improve, he could quickly find himself out of the Pistons future plans. There are so many different ways this could go. I would not be surprised if Johnson was traded during the draft or some other time before the season. I also wouldn't be surprised if he signed an extension before the late October deadline.

What do you think? Can he figure out how to score? Should he be part of the Pistons future?