The future for Reggie Jackson, Brandon Jennings and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are among the items stuffing Pistons Mailbag in this week's edition.

Dela (@delarulez): Do you think Reggie Jackson can become a top-10 point guard?

Langlois: Sure. But there are so many really good point guards in the NBA today – hands down, the best depth the position has had in at least a generation – that the difference between No. 10 and No. 20 might not be all that discernible. I don't think there's much question that since March 17, when Jackson put up 23 points and 20 assists in a win over Memphis, he's been one of the 10 best point guards in the world. Starting from that point, Jackson's numbers over the past 11 games, as I wrote earlier this week, are 20.7 points, 10.8 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 4.8 free-throw attempts per game; .494 shooting and .416 3-point shooting. I don't know if that's sustainable over 82 games, but 11 games is a pretty decent sample size – in other words, I don't think it's a fluke. There are very few players who are going to be great no matter what system they're plugged into or who surrounds them. To some degree, how you might rank the point guards after you get past the top three or four obvious names depends on the situation that's been created around them. If Stan Van Gundy has the type of off-season I'm sure he believes is possible given a lottery pick and a significant amount of cap space, Jackson very well could find an environment created here that would be conducive to him thrusting himself into the top-10 discussion over the course of next season.

Darrell (Detroit): Assuming the Pistons retain Jackson, I think he and Jennings would make a formidable backcourt duo. Yet I would hate to see KCP's developments slide by coming off the bench. Any chance KCP can slide over to small forward on a more permanent basis? I can't see him doing much worse in that position defensively than a rookie or two mid-30-year-olds, assuming Prince and Butler remain on the roster next season.

Langlois: Caldwell-Pope might get more minutes at small forward next season, Darrell. That's certainly an option Stan Van Gundy will keep in mind as he attacks free agency. Much of his free-agent strategy will be formed by (1) whom the Pistons get with their lottery pick and (2) perhaps even to a larger degree, what happens with Greg Monroe. If Monroe can be retained, then the Pistons can focus mainly on bolstering small forward in free agency. If Monroe walks away, then power forward becomes at least as important. Stan Van Gundy has said he'd prefer to bring Anthony Tolliver off the bench, so he'll be looking for somebody who can play 30 minutes or so a night at power forward. It would be a bonus if that player could also – as Monroe does – give minutes at center. Even if the Pistons were to draft a forward, Van Gundy might not be convinced that the No. 1 pick is immediately a rotation-quality player as of July 1 when free agency opens. Maybe that player changes his mind with an impressive Summer League performance, maybe not. The only thing I'm pretty sure about with regard to your question is that Van Gundy does not envision Caldwell-Pope primarily at small forward. His frame is a little too slight for that. I don't think he would ever consider him as a starter at the position – those players generally would be too powerful for him and both wear him down physically and put him at risk of early foul trouble – but he's comfortable using him there when teams go small and play with either three-guard lineups or put out a small forward who is a perimeter-oriented player and not a threat to be used in postups. As for Jennings-Jackson as a backcourt tandem, yeah, I think Van Gundy is also enthusiastic about having two attacking guards on the floor simultaneously. Again, though, he'll pick his spots. Jackson can guard many shooting guards because of his size and length, but he wouldn't want to give him a steady diet of it. The potential offensively is intriguing, though. Jennings, for as much as he enjoys having the ball in his hands, also is very receptive to playing off the ball and getting it on the move. Lots of possibilities with a Jennings-Jackson combo. If Jennings comes back healthy, I'd be surprised if we didn't see that in use for four- or six-minute stretches of each half.

Kobina (Decatur, Ga.): Isn't five years of picking in the seven to nine range the very definition of being stuck on the treadmill of mediocrity? Why shouldn't fans want to tank so we can have a chance at some of the elite talent we have missed out on over the last half-decade?

Langlois: I wonder how you'd feel about the concept of tanking, Kobina, if you were a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers. Because that's what tanking looks like. We'll see if it pays off, but so far the 76ers have traded away last year's Rookie of the Year and have spent three other lottery picks on players who missed all of their rookie years (Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, Dario Saric). Give me shining examples of tanking projects that paid off in sustained title drives. I think the lottery system needs a dramatic overhaul, but even as it is, what does tanking guarantee. The 76ers are trying to tank like no team before them ever has and they still haven't backed into a No. 1 pick and won't take the No. 1 position into this year's lottery, it appears. And, as I've contended in this space before, even if you like the concept of tanking, putting it into practice is another animal. Sam Hinkie, Philadelphia's general manager, has made no secret of his long-term plan though you won't hear him utter the word "tanking." But I think even Hinkie understands you have to put up a firewall between the front office and the sideline on that score. He didn't hire Brett Brown and tell him to deliberately find ways to lose games, so Brown is coaching his posterior off for the 76ers. And, beyond that, Hinkie has handed Brown a roster loaded with undrafted players and fringe NBAers who have as their abiding individual goal the desire to stay in the NBA. They know they're not star players and they understand that role players are coveted only if they act as good teammates and play hard in addition to showing at least one but probably not more than two NBA-level skills. So playing hard is in their DNA. The 76ers under this model are going to play hard consistently and win games on nights they catch more talented teams a little road weary. The Pistons have lost twice at Philadelphia since their 5-23 turnaround when they were at scheduling disadvantages: the first time as the last game in a four-in-five stretch that began with them losing Brandon Jennings to injury, the second in a home-road back-to-back set and both times while the 76ers had been off the night before. There are enough of those situations over the course of a season to allow a team that plays hard to win enough to foil even the best-schemed attempt at tanking. It's not hard to see the nucleus – Drummond, Jackson, Caldwell-Pope, certainly Monroe if he can be retained – of a Pistons team poised for a breakthrough, a la Atlanta or Toronto of 2013-14, in Stan Van Gundy's second season. In any case, I can surely point out more examples where the Atlanta/Toronto model has been successful than you can offer me as a defense for the wisdom of tanking.

Clark (Santa Cruz, Calif.): What kind of offer would it take to get Jae Crowder from Boston? I know he's a restricted free agent, but it seems like he could fit what we're building here. Also, what are your thoughts on Gerald Green? It seems like he could be a cheap backup plan if Jodie keeps playing inconsistently. Lastly, any feel for which way the team is leaning on Caron's option and which way Cartier is leaning for his option?

Langlois: It's a real good crop of small forwards who'll hit the market as restricted free agents this off-season, Clark – headed by Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. I'd be bowled over if Leonard or Butler were allowed to get away no matter what offers they scare up. Harris is a little less certain but the odds would still be very strong that Orlando retains him. Crowder falls into a group that's a little harder to project (and maybe ex-Piston Kyle Singler fits in that group, too.) It really depends on how much of a role Boston envisions for him. If there's a team that sees Crowder as a starter and gives him an offer sheet to pay him as such, then Boston – unless the Celtics also view him as their starter – will have a hard choice on its hands. I think Stan Van Gundy, though he probably expected to get more out of Meeks this season, is going to go into the off-season optimistic that Meeks will have a better second season with the Pistons and of the belief that the back injury that cost him nearly two months and all but the opening week of training camp was the major contributing factor to Meeks' season-long inconsistency. With Meeks and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope at shooting guard and needs at both forward spots, I wouldn't expect the Pistons to pursue another rotation-level shooting guard unless it was a wing player they felt could just as easily play small forward. Is that Green? No way to know if they view him as that type of player, but he's got the length to suggest he could at least swing between the positions. As for Butler, Van Gundy highly values his leadership and I'm sure he would welcome him back as a part of the puzzle at small forward. That doesn't necessarily mean they'll pick up the option, though, because the cap space the Pistons can create is their major tool to improve the roster this summer. Martin probably isn't leaning one way or the other until he and his agent huddle once the season ends. Players who go the entire season without being a regular part of the rotation probably don't take much leverage into the marketplace, generally speaking.

Paul (Phoenix): Wondering what the excuse is for not at least seeing if Quincy can play at the NBA level. The Pistons have had one in 20 games with production from the small forward position. With Monroe out we have nothing from the power forward position because of the lopsided trade with Boston. I don't see a lot of creative thinking on the court or in the front office.

Langlois: I can give you Stan Van Gundy's logic, Paul. The Pistons liked Quincy Miller enough to sign him out of the D-League after he'd had two 10-day trials with Utah and the Jazz declined to sign him. The Pistons did the two 10-day deals with Miller and then signed him not only for the rest of this season but for Summer League and training camp next fall. So there's no pressure to throw him into the fray now, before Van Gundy feels he's capable of helping win games or perhaps acquitting himself capably. The Pistons have invested a fair amount of time and money into Miller at this point. They're going to be satisfied of his NBA potential to the degree possible after a full summer – not just Summer League, but all the work before and after it he'll log at the team's practice facility– and a full training camp. I think what you're really saying is you want to see Quincy Miller now to form some opinion of him. Van Gundy gets to see him every day in practice and individual workouts with the assistant coaches he puts in after practices and on off days. He already has the information he needed to decide that he wants the chance for a more full evaluation of Miller – and signing him to the contract they gave Miller allows him that opportunity.