PistonPowered: At least Pistons have sound structure now

Dan Feldman writes for the Detroit Pistons blog PistonPowered. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. PistonPowered writers will contribute a column every Friday at freep.com/pistons . Contact Dan anytime at pistonpowered@gmail.com or on Twitter @danfeldmannba.

Andre Drummond is an elite offensive rebounder.

He also was an elite offensive rebounder last year. And the year before.

The center has taken it to another level this season, though, posting the best offensive-rebounding percentage -- the percentage of his team's missed shots that he

snags while on the court -- in 17 years and the 13th-best mark in NBA history.

It's an incredible accomplishment, and Drummond deserves more praise than he has received. But Drummond's most significant development has come at the other end, with defensive rebounding.

Before the season, Stan Van Gundy openly criticized the Pistons' rebounding splits from the year prior to his arrival: first in the NBA in offensive rebounding but 23rd in defensive rebounding. To the new team president/coach, the excellent offensive rebounding showed the team's ability on the glass. The mediocre defensive rebounding showed a lack of focus and effort. Players went hard for rebounds only when it would create more scoring opportunities.

This year, the Pistons rank third in offensive rebounding and 13th in defensive rebounding, a much more reasonable split. Only Dennis Rodman has posted higher offensive- and defensive-rebounding percentages than Drummond in a season.

It's one of the many ways the Pistons have developed into a more structurally sound team -- a more structurally sound franchise -- under Van Gundy.

At 29-46, the Pistons will finish with a record similar to the previous five years, each of which ended outside of the postseason (27-55, 30-52, 25-41, 29-53 and 29-53). But their foundation is stronger than at any time during this stretch, and it starts at the top.

Tom Gores is a better owner than ever, having gained a better understanding of how the NBA operates. He's no longer demanding playoff berths and inspiring shortsighted moves that hurt the team's future. Due to his trust in Van Gundy, Gores is now preaching patience.

Van Gundy is learning how to best handle his new role as a front-office leader. He has developed a strong organization with Jeff Bower as general manager and Jeff Nix, Ken Catanella and Brian Wright as assistant GMs.

The team's salary cap outlook is relatively clear, though long-term cap hits to the departed Josh Smith and Aaron Gray hurt. But if the Pistons' worst contract is Jodie Meeks, that's not bad. Remember, when the NBA introduced the amnesty clause, the Pistons had four(!) potential candidates in Richard Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva and Jason Maxiell. Then they signed Smith. By comparison, this setup is gold, especially as the NBA salary cap rises under the new national TV contracts.

The Pistons also have all of their own future first-round draft picks. No longer does the pick sent to Charlotte (to rid the Pistons of Gordon) hang over their head. They owe Utah their 2017 second-rounder and Oklahoma City their 2019 second-rounder, but those are relatively small potatoes.

Lastly, the Pistons have nearly a full season under their belt with their own D-League affiliate. They're learning how to take advantage of that training ground, both for NBA players sent down and D-Leaguers trying to prove themselves.

The Pistons will take a step back if Greg Monroe leaves in free agency, but that at least would free more cap room and open the possibility of acquiring a better-fitting power forward.

Otherwise, all of the ingredients are in place to build a winning roster.

The Pistons have a nice piece of land. They have all the permits. They have an architect in Van Gundy.

Now it's time to wrap up another miserable season and finally build something.