Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons are NBA draft lottery losers after a season of historic shortcomings — again.

In Sunday's NBA draft lottery, the Pistons fell the maximum slots possible in the current system. The Pistons had the best odds for the No. 1 overall pick, 14%, after finishing 14-68, the worst record in franchise history, in 2023-24.

It is the second year in a row the Pistons have slid from the No. 1 spot to No. 5. Last year, the Pistons lost out on the lottery and a chance to select Victor Wembanyama, ending up with Ausar Thompson at five instead.

The Pistons, Charlotte Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers all fell out of the top four, getting leapfrogged by the San Antonio Spurs at No. 4, the Houston Rockets at No. 3 and the Atlanta Hawks at No. 1. The Washington Wizards, who had the second-worst record (and 14% odds for No. 1) remained at No. 2.

Detroit and their incoming president of basketball operations — who has yet to be hired — will have its work cut out after falling to No. 5. Detroit finished with the worst record in the NBA for the second straight year and reached the low point in franchise history despite having a collection of young talent led by former No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham.

All of that for the fifth pick. Woof. Thompson's reaction as the Pistons' representative on the stage in Chicago says it all.

The basketball gods have yet to relent on the Pistons, and fans are resigned to the misery while the rest of the NBA world points and laughs like Nelson Muntz in "The Simpsons."

For all that the Detroit Pistons’ young core — Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren — provide in regards to intrigue and optimism individually, the group of five may have a major issue on its hands that could make the individual experiences null and void.

The lack of perimeter shooting is alarming and may force the organization to seriously rethink whether this group can succeed together as soon as this summer.

Before we get deep into the weeds, it should be noted that the Pistons’ front office may have to consider shaking up this core group sooner rather than later because Detroit, with a 12-56 record, has a chance to be the NBA’s worst team yet again. There’s a legitimate chance that this Pistons team finishes with the worst record in franchise history (16 wins would tie it). It’s even more likely that ownership feels like progress in the win-loss column should have been made.

If this were Year 1 or 2 of the Pistons’ rebuild, patience would still permeate from top to bottom. This is Year 4. Detroit has to be significantly better next season because of how the last three seasons have gone.

When healthy, the five names mentioned above make up the Pistons’ starting lineup. The best shooter, in terms of percentage, in that group is Stewart, who just started shooting volume 3s for the first time last season. Stewart is knocking down more than 38 percent of his nearly 4.0 attempts per game. The progress Stewart has made has been a bright spot in a season that has been rather dull. He’s making “open” and “wide open” 3-pointers at an acceptable rate, especially when you factor in his age and growing skill set. Opposing teams are staying home on Stewart more frequently when the ball is in his vicinity.

Yet, even with Stewart’s success from 3, the big man, who is probably the most consistent player in the starting lineup, doesn’t possess the upside of the other four in the rotation. Detroit, more than anything, needs the players occupying the other four spots to really be threats from distance. And soon.

Let’s go to Cunningham next because everything he’s shown since Jan. 1 suggests that he’s going to be fine from 3. Since the turn of the calendar year, the organization’s best player is knocking down 36.1 percent of his 5.3 3-point attempts per game, a fine mark considering the volume he’s putting up and the fact he missed an entire season, essentially, with a leg injury. Furthermore, it’s encouraging that, also since Jan. 1, Cunningham is knocking down a solid 38 percent on pull-up 3s (only 1.8 per game). If you look back since Feb. 15, a little over a month, Cunningham is at 44.8 percent (2.2 attempts per game). The signs are growing more and more encouraging as a pull-up 3-point shooter, an area that often catapults players into All-Star status. Now, Detroit does need Cunningham’s catch-and-shoot percentage to improve (he’s around 34.6 percent on those shots since Jan. 1) in order to fully utilize him and the Ivey backcourt when on the court together. But, at the end of the day, Cunningham’s growth and numbers as the team’s primary ballhandler suggest that they should continue to utilize him in that role more often than not.

That takes us to Ivey, who is the best player on the roster at getting to the rim with the ball in his hands. Ivey’s ability to attack defenses with his speed and improving touch is worthwhile for the Pistons, without question. However, if he’s going to play alongside Cunningham, he has to be better shooting the ball. Ivey is in the midst of a damaging 3-point shooting slump dating back to Feb. 1. Since then, he’s shooting 31.9 percent on close to 6.0 attempts per game. Over his last 10 games, the second-year guard is at 21.3 percent on 6.1 attempts per game. On the season, Ivey is in the low 30 percent on both pull-up 3s and catch-and-shoot 3s, per NBA.com.

Ivey has been the epitome of a streaky distance shooter since entering the NBA. Before this 10-game slump, he shot over 43 percent in February. Ivey has a trend of solid-to-great 3-point shooting one month and then truly detrimental 3-point shooting the next. Maybe Ivey will become the consistent 3-point threat the Pistons need, to make the pairing with Cunningham truly work. It’s just not there yet, and given the fragile state of the franchise at this point in time, Detroit’s decision-makers may need to figure out what they believe the future holds for Ivey as a shooter if the goal is to continue to make him a starter going forward.

Lastly, Thompson and Duren are complete non-threats from 3. Thompson is under 20 percent on the season, but it’s hard to be too critical of him because he defends at an elite level, finishes well at the rim and has the possibility to be a secondary ballhandler sooner rather than later. Thompson, along with Cunningham, especially Cunningham, is untouchable because if the shot does come around, you’re looking at someone with All-NBA upside due to what he can be on the defensive end. As for Duren, 3-point shooting isn’t in his arsenal. Not now, and maybe not for a long time. He has improved immensely as a free-throw shooter and that often is a good sign when projecting someone’s 3-point shooting, but that feels so far down the road that it’s hard to even consider at this point.

All in all, the Pistons have a group of young pieces that they really like and that all bring something different table. Usually, varying skill sets makes for a cohesive collection of talent. That hasn’t been the case in Detroit because, well, none of them are elite shooters. It would be tough to even say that 1 1/2 are good shooters at this point.

Sooner than they maybe anticipated, Detroit’s decision-makers may have to have tough conversations internally regarding this group of five players, if they fit and who is worth building around. The Pistons probably didn’t anticipate having these talks so seriously, so soon, but that’s what comes with losing at this level for four years.

It’s entirely possible that the players Detroit need to become consistent 3-point threats do so by next season. After all, this is a rebuild. Patience is required when fostering talented youth. It’s also entirely possible that it doesn’t happen. The caveat is that the Pistons don’t really have the luxury of rolling the dice this time around and banking on development of this magnitude, not across the board.

Losing, like this, changes things.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/12483370

NBA Ref: Knicks Should Have Been Called for Foul in Controversial Win vs. Pistons

Detroit Pistons power forward Isaiah Stewart punched Phoenix Suns power forward Drew Eubanks in the face in a Footprint Center parking lot before the Suns’ 116-100 win over the Pistons on Wednesday, league sources briefed on the matter confirmed to The Athletic.

The Phoenix Police Department announced that Stewart was arrested for assault and issued a citation before being released. It’s unclear what sparked the altercation in Phoenix.

“Around 4:45 p.m. Phoenix police officers were working in a security capacity during a Suns home game at Footprint Arena when they were called to a fight between two players inside the arena’s parking lot,” Phoenix Police Sergeant Phil Krynsky said in a statement. “When the officers arrived, they were directed by security to the players involved. The players were identified as 27-year-old Drew Eubanks and 22-year-old Isaiah Stewart. Officers spoke to both players involved and a number of people who witnessed the incident. They learned there was an argument between both players as they arrived at the arena. Witnesses said the argument escalated when they saw Stewart punch Eubanks, causing a minor injury. Both men were separated by security which ended the fight. Detectives responded to investigate the incident and collect evidence. Stewart was arrested for assault, issued a citation and released. The investigation remains active.”

The NBA is expected to receive footage. The league is reviewing the matter, a league source said.

“We are aware of the incident between Isaiah Stewart and Drew Eubanks prior to this evening’s game,” Detroit said in a statement before the arrest. “We are in the process of gathering information about what happened and what provoked it, and responding to the NBA and local authorities.”

“The attack on Drew Eubanks was unprovoked, and acts of violence such as this are unacceptable,” a Suns spokesperson said. “We unequivocally support Drew, and will continue to work with local law enforcement and the NBA.”

During a Nov. 5 matchup between the two teams in Detroit, both Stewart and Eubanks were extra aggressive with each other and verbally sparring throughout the game.

“I know there were statements put out,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said of the altercation postgame. “I want to get all of the information.”

Williams said he talked to Stewart, and Stewart shared what happened. Williams continued by saying he thought the Suns saying the altercation was “unprovoked” was irresponsible. He believes more information should be gathered before saying something like that.

Stewart has missed the last several games with an ankle injury. He joined the Pistons on their West Coast swing to prepare for a return after the All-Star break. Eubanks was warming up following the altercation and two hours before the game.

Eubanks finished the game with six points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 18 minutes of action.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/11647873

Pistons waive Killian Hayes, No. 7 pick in 2020 draft

Yes, that Danuel House. The one who cheated on his wife during the bubble.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/14964644

Woj - The Pistons are trading Bojan Bogdanovic to the Knicks too, sources tell ESPN. Evan Fournier and Malachi Flynn will go to Detroit.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are acquiring guard Monte Morris from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for guards Shake Milton and Troy Brown Jr. and a 2030 second-round draft pick, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday.

Morris, 28, averaged a career-high 10.3 points and 5.3 assists for the Washington Wizards last season while starting 61 of 62 games. He missed the first 43 games of the 2023-24 season with a right quad injury, but he returned on Jan. 24 as a reserve for the Pistons.

Morris, who is in the final season of a three-year, $27.7 million deal, adds playoff experience off the bench for the Wolves, who are in the midst of one of the best seasons in franchise history at 35-16 and tied for first place in the Western Conference.

Morris has played in 48 career playoff games (10 starts) with the Denver Nuggets. He will look to assist a Timberwolves offense that has struggled down the stretch recently.

Since Jan. 20, the Timberwolves have lost four games when leading by 10-plus points in the fourth quarter, including Tuesday. That is the most in the NBA during that span. During that same stretch, the Timberwolves rank 29th in offensive efficiency in the fourth quarter, ahead of only the Portland Trail Blazers.

Morris has struggled to find a rhythm in his six games since returning from injury, averaging 4.5 points on 36.4% shooting. However, he has the second-highest career assist-to-turnover ratio among players with at least 1,000 assists.

Milton played 38 games for Minnesota this season, averaging 4.7 points on 40% shooting. Brown appeared in 37 games and averaged 4.2 points on 44% shooting. Both players have team options for next season.

The Detroit Pistons are acquiring Utah Jazz forward Simone Fontecchio in a trade that will cost them an early second-round pick in the 2024 NBA draft, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

Fontecchio, 28, had attracted significant attention at the trade deadline and lands with a Pistons franchise determined to add long-term talent and shooting amid its rebuild.

Fontecchio is still expected to be a well-pursued player in restricted free agency this summer, but the Pistons will have the ability to match an offer sheet and retain him.

The Pistons are sending the expiring contract of Kevin Knox, a 2024 second-round pick via the Washington Wizards and the draft rights to 2022 second-round pick Gabriele Procida, sources said.

Fontecchio will be a restricted free agent this summer and Detroit made the trade with the intent on re-signing him long-term, sources said. Fontecchio had a strong season for the Jazz, averaging 8.9 points while starting 34 games and shooting 39% on 3-pointers.

Earl Cureton, a former Detroit high school basketball and University of Detroit standout, as well as a Detroit Pistons center and community ambassador for the team, passed away suddenly Sunday morning. He was 66.

Cureton, nicknamed "The Twirl," starred for Detroit Finney before starting his collegiate career at Robert Morris in 1976. He only stayed at the school for a season before transferring back home. He helped the Titans — before they became Detroit Mercy — as a junior to the 1979 NCAA tournament, and the following season averaged a team-best 20 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

He was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1979 in the third round, and joined the team a year later, where he played for three seasons before signing with the Pistons ahead of the 1983-84 season. His professional career lasted 17 seasons, with multiple stops overseas before he retired at 39, after the 1996-97 season with the Toronto Raptors.

Cureton played in 674 NBA games, averaging 5.4 points and 4.7 rebounds across 12 seasons, and won championships as a reserve with the Sixers (1983) and Houston Rockets (1994).

Cureton had been an ambassador with the Pistons since 2013 and a Titans television analyst for more than a decade. His cause of death is unknown.

"We feel like we've been robbed," George Blaha, longtime Pistons television broadcaster, said on the Bally Sports Detroit postgame telecast Sunday after the Pistons lost to the Orlando Magic. "Spending time with Earl was as good as it gets."

Cureton filled in on Pistons radio Friday for an ill Rick Mahorn, and was supposed to fill in again Sunday at Little Caesars Arena, according to Blaha and Cureton's longtime friend and Pistons color analyst Greg Kelser.

"The Detroit Pistons organization is deeply saddened by the passing of Earl Cureton, a person who meant so much to the organization as a colleague, former player, community ambassador and friend," the team said in a release. "As tough a competitor as he was during his playing years on the court, he was equally kind-hearted, outgoing and impactful off it. He represented our franchise with great passion and truly enjoyed working to give back and improve the lives of Detroiters in the city he loved so much. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Earl’s family and countless friends and teammates during this most difficult time.”

"All of us are hurting," former Pistons teammate Isiah Thomas said in a statement. "He was a tremendous teammate, tough competitor, a champion and a great human being. Earl always held the Detroit community close to his heart and worked tirelessly to make a difference for the city he loved. He will be greatly missed."

Cureton had his No. 24 jersey retired by Detroit Mercy in 2020, after fulfilling a promise to his mother by completing his degree there in 2011.

His new book, "Earl the Twirl: My Life in Basketball," was published in December.

The Detroit Pistons traded forwards Marvin Bagley III and Isaiah Livers and two future second-round draft picks to the Washington Wizards for Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala, Washington announced on Sunday.

The deal unloads $12.5 million in Bagley's guaranteed money for 2024-25 off the books for the Pistons.

The Wizards land second-round picks in 2025 and 2026 to take on the salary.

The rest of the players involved in the trade -- Gallinari ($6.8 million), Muscala ($3.5 million) and Livers ($1.8 million) -- are on expiring contracts.

Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham joins The Woj Pod to discuss what losing has taught him, the price of leadership, the responsibility of a franchise player and why he wants to see this through in Detroit.

Plus: Pistons GM Troy Weaver on the losing streak, Monty Williams/Cunningham and why he believes they'll see through to success.

After gaining a much-needed win to end the calendar year of 2023, here’s to hoping the momentum carries over to the new year of 2024! Here is the January schedule of the Detroit Pistons, courtesy of ProSportsBackgrounds.com

This deserves a dedicated post-game thread, given the circumstances 🥳🎉🍾

Sixty-three days separated the Detroit Pistons' second and third wins this season. At least they can enter the new year with their heads held high.

The Pistons (3-29) snapped their 28-game losing streak Saturday with a 129-127 win over the Toronto Raptors at Little Caesars Arena. The Pistons had already set the NBA's single-season record for consecutive losses and tied the all-time record set by the Philadelphia 76ers across the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

Their previous win? A 118-102 thumping Oct. 28 of the Chicago Bulls at LCA. The Pistons finish 2023 with just 10 wins — they are 5-52 since Feb. 10 — and will now aim to set a better tone in 2024 when they face the Rockets in Houston on Jan. 1 to start a four-game western road trip.

On Saturday, Cade Cunningham had a rough start but came alive late, thanks to a strong night at the free throw line. He scored 26 of his 30 points in the second half, and went 8-for-8 at the line through the first three quarters with just made four field goals in the same span. He also dished out 12 assists with zero turnovers.

"I’m proud of how our guys have continued to fight through adversity," Pistons owner Tom Gores said in a released statement postgame. "I know it's been hard, but they've kept their heads up and showed real character. The streak is over, but the hard work continues.”

A few hours before the game, the Raptors (12-20) officially tiopped off trade season by sending OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn to the New York Knicks for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and the Pistons' 2024 second-round pick.

It allowed the Pistons to face a team that not only had to play without three rotation players and its best defender, but was also coming off a 120-118 road loss to the Boston Celtics less than 24 hours prior. Toronto still shot the ball well (50.5% overall, 50% from 3) but was outdone by a Pistons team that got strong performances across the roster.

Toronto's Pascal Siakam led all scorers with 35 points, but the Pistons got strong nights from Bojan Bogdanovic (19 points), Jalen Duren (18 points, 17 rebounds) and Kevin Knox II (17 points).

The Pistons took control in the first half as the Raptors went cold after a hot start, taking a 52-44 lead entering halftime after Toronto shot 6-for-23 in the second quarter. The Pistons picked up after making just six of 21 shot attempts through the first nine minutes of the opening period.

Offensive rebounding and a rare productive night for the bench (led by Alec Burks’ 16 points on 4-for-6 shooting) helped the Pistons build a lead even though Cunningham struggled early.

He had four points on 1-for-8 shooting in the first half, after averaging a staggering 33 points, 7.4 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals on 56.9% overall shooting over his past five games.

The Pistons can credit a strong night at the foul line, knocking down 35 of their 40 attempts to hold off the Raptors' furious last-minute rally.

The Pistons went 14-for-17 on free throws in the final quarter.

The Raptors took a one-point lead multiple times and tied it at 85 with a Siakam layup. Detroit finished the third period with a pair of free throws from Ausar Thompson and a contested corner 3-pointer by Bogdanovic, extending the lead to 90-86. Burks then opened the fourth with an entry pass to James Wiseman for a dunk.

The home crowd rose to its feet and cheered in the final moments as the Pistons left the court with smiles.

"I’ve been in a ton of locker rooms my whole life, and that’s a first for me, to have that kind of, it wasn't relief. It was just like, 'Thank God,'" head coach Monty Williams said. "Finally. Guys were screaming. I was almost in tears. I’m just so happy for our guys, happy for everybody in the locker room. Sometimes it just takes a win like that to get things started.

"I’ve said it so many times that I think people may have thought that they were ok with losing, but they came in every day with a great spirit and they wanted answers and they came in wanting to learn and get better. We rarely came into the gym with a bad spirit. We always had our joy because knew that if we put it together we could win just not one game, but put many wins together. I just respect the heck out of our guys. Really happy, and we finally got a win. Because it’s so hard to win in this league. It was pretty cool."

Burks, Knox lift Pistons early

You could almost hear a collective groan in the arena when Williams handed the reins to his bench with four minutes left in the first. The Pistons' units without either Cunningham or Bogdanovic on the floor have been routinely crushed by teams. The group (Burks, Killian Hayes, Isaiah Livers, Ausar Thompson and James Wiseman) initially gave up a pair of Raptors baskets and struggled to find room offensively.

But after their first possession together ended with a shot clock violation, Burks picked up the slack. The veteran sharpshooter drew fouls on a transition layup attempt and 3-pointer and made all five free throws, and then knocked down a catch-and-shoot 3 to put the Pistons ahead 25-24 after a quarter.

They sustained their momentum, too. Knox and Livers knocked down back-to-back 3s to extend the lead to 47-37 with just over three minutes remaining in the second.

Knox continued rolling in the third, scoring seven points with a 3 and a pair of inside baskets, including a poster dunk of Jakob Poeltl, to help the Pistons sustain a lead through the first half of the quarter. Knox scored all 17 of his points in the first three periods, and finished 7-for-14 shooting.

Burks has struggled for most of the season, shooting 32.6% overall and 32.8% from 3 entering the game. Saturday was a return to form.

"He always says it comes back around," Cunningham said. "I always say it to him, I call him ‘All Buckets,’ because when I stepped into the league when he was in New York, I didn’t like playing against him. To have him on the squad, that’s what he does is score the ball. It’s something that even through the slump, I trusted him to knock down shots, because that’s what he does. It was only right that it came back around in a big moment for us."

Cunningham finishes strong

One of the NBA's hottest players these past two weeks, Cunningham appeared to be in store for a rough night. Shots didn't fall early, though he did have four assists.

Cunningham knocked down eight of his 12 attempts in the second half, including a handful of big shots in the final period. On consecutive possessions, he knocked down a pull-up 3-pointer and found Jaden Ivey open for a 3-pointer to give the Pistons their biggest lead of the night, 110-99, midway through the fourth.

With 1:34 to go, Cunningham knocked down a midrange jumper to give the Pistons a 116-107 cushion, nearly icing the game and ending 2023 on a joyful note after a historically horrendous stretch.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/10057130

…it's because no other team in the history of the NBA has achieved(?) 27 consecutive losses! Rock and roll!

Paced by Cade Cunningham’s 41 points, the Pistons’ fans alternated recent chants of “Sell the team!” to bursts of “Let’s Go Pistons!” and “Dee-Fence!” for at least one night. But, as the home team faded at the end, the chants of “Sell the team!” returned.

“I actually talked to the players about this the other day, with all the losses here, what we still have is a very good future,” [Beverly Hills billionaire and team owner Tom] Gores said. “No. 1, we have an amazing set of young players. High character, high talent. This set of players, and I know them individually and I saw them the other day, we’re in a great spot with our young talent . . . I’m willing to do whatever it takes for this organization to be successful. As much as the vision feels blurry to me . . . “

“Nobody wants this kind of thing attached to them,” said [Pistons coach Monty] Williams, whose contract reaches at least six years and maybe more. “It weighs on us every day.”

It weighs on us too, pal. 🤦‍♂️

Crossposted from https://programming.dev/post/7768442

Original video from this youtube link

As mentioned by one of the top comments, it’s sad to know this is the most recognition our fave team gets from one of my fave Youtubers 🥲

Content retrieved from the archive link

The worst team in town is the biggest story in town, at least behind the Detroit Lions, though the attention the Detroit Pistons are drawing for setting the wrong kind of history won’t last. Apathy will replace anger — it may be already — and the losing will fade into oblivion.

For now, though, Pistons fans are mad, perhaps a little stunned, and obviously confused that the rebuild already seems to be finished. Which means it’s time to start rebuilding the rebuild.

Crazy? A little, sure. But hardly unprecedented. Still, other cities’ misery isn’t the fix anyone is looking for at the moment. Just a single win. Along with a plan. And a sign the franchise building block can be more than a secondary playmaker who struggles to finish at the rim.

At his best, Cade Cunningham can take over a game and bend the court. And if he were surrounded by more consistent teammates — and quality 3-point shooters! — perhaps we’d see him do this more frequently.

Yet at some point, the lead dog has to bring the others to the bowl, and Cunningham has yet to show he can do that consistently.

This, more than anything else regarding the Pistons’ future, is the question: Does this franchise have a franchise guy?

That it's hard to answer contributes to the growing lack of hope. So, let’s talk about hope, and the lack of it, and what that feels like when the search for light gets harder by the day.

The Pistons are bereft of hope. No place in professional sports is worse.

The players are disconnected from the coach. The coach is disconnected from the front office. The front office is disconnected from a future. The owner is disconnected from the fans.

This is how it seems, anyway, right? That there are chasms between the moving parts of this flailing NBA franchise?

How else to explain the lack of consistent fight? The constant fourth-quarter collapses? The endless turnovers, the fouling?

How else to explain sitting last year’s No. 5 pick, Jaden Ivey, for the entire first quarter Wednesday in loss No. 18 of a losing streak that hit 19 on Friday? How else to explain hockey-style subbing in reserves that can’t produce? Or not making sure one of the two best players is always on the floor?

Everyone appears defeated. One loss feels like the bottom ... until the next loss feels worse, like the loss to Memphis felt Wednesday night.

The Grizzlies were without Ja Morant and three of their top six rotational players. Somehow, the Pistons led after three quarters.

Yet Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr. and a handful of role players ran the Pistons off the court in the fourth quarter, delivering a deluge of easy layups and open jumpers. Bane dropped a career-high 49 points.

Surprising?

Sadly, yes, but then that’s where we are with the worst team in basketball — maybe the worst team in all professional sports. Certainly, they're the worst team in Pistons’ history, surprised they’d managed a two-point lead after three quarters against a bottom-five team.

This team is headed toward history — ignoble history — unless something miraculously changes, like if ownership, the front office and the entire roster were to swap out with, say, San Antonio. Oh, wait, the Spurs have lost 16 straight, were nearly as bad last season, and have played sub-.500 basketball the last four years.

Yes, they have 2023 No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama. That’s a different kind of future. A hopeful kind of future. They also have ownership that has overseen titles, one of the best front offices in the NBA and an all-time coach.

And if they’re struggling, what does this mean for the Pistons?

More existential questions, like: Who are they? And: Is there a single future All-Star on the team?

A 19-game losing streak will do this. Losing 43 of 47 will do this, too. Take a look at the schedule and it’s not hard to see a similarly dismal stretch ahead.

Where can the Pistons get a win? Against the Utah Jazz (7-15) six games from now? That’s what we thought two weeks ago, looking ahead to a visit from Memphis.

So, yes, hope. Its absence is the cruelest in sports. But it doesn’t stay cruel for long. At some point the pain turns to apathy, and that’s even worse. The Pistons are not there yet, though, because history is out there, ignominious it may be.

Folks will tune in like rubberneckers on a freeway. Once they’ve seen it, once the Pistons set the NBA record for consecutive losses in a season (the record is 26), well, they’ll start looking straight ahead.

Then what?

More nights like Wednesday, I suppose, when barely 5,000 fans showed up and the lower bowl at Little Caesars Arena looked like a mausoleum. Surely, that got owner Tom Gores' attention: It’s one thing to lose, it’s another to have no chance against a wounded, beleaguered, fellow cellar-dweller with endless rows of empty seats.

Gores has tried to make the moves to turn his franchise around. He seems to care. He just doesn’t know how to fix this.

The players want to fix this, too, but can’t. There is pride here. And also shame; no athlete wants to become a story for the wrong reasons

It’s not that they aren’t trying, it’s that they are no longer fighting. And those are their words.

“It seems to me that we are playing harder against each other in practice,” Bojan Bogdanovic told reporters after the dispiriting loss to the Grizzlies on Wednesday. “But at this point it doesn’t matter how we practice. People are coming to watch us at Little Caesars Arena, not in the (practice facility). We have to get here and be better and show them the fight and discipline and anger we have to play with.”

Good words. True words. Damning words.

The fact that the team plays harder in practice is troubling, and falls on the coach. Monty Williams obviously hasn’t been able to connect with this team and get it to compete. He admitted this, and that’s admirable — self-awareness is the first step toward change — but at some point, he has to figure it out … or what’s the point?

As for the front office? That’ll have to change at season’s end, short of a spirited turnaround.

It just hasn’t worked, not all of it general manager Troy Weaver’s fault. Some years teams get luckier in the draft than others, and no front offices wins big without good fortune. Remember the Spurs? Tim Duncan changed everything. He came to them at No. 1, after they swiped the top pick from the Boston Celtics in the lottery. It’s not like San Antonio uncovered him.

Just as the Orlando Magic — which embarrassed the Pistons, 123-91, on Friday night — didn’t uncover Paolo Banchero. He went No. 1 in a mild surprise last year, when the Pistons fell form first to fifth in the lottery and took Ivey.

If the Magic had won the lottery the year before, they’d have chosen between Cunningham, Evan Mobley and Jalen Green, not the Pistons. And this conversation might sound different.

True, the Magic found Michigan's Franz Wagner at No. 8 overall, but if they knew he would be as good as he has been, they wouldn’t have passed on him with the fifth pick in the same draft, when they took Jalen Suggs. In other words, Orlando got a bit lucky.

Have the Pistons made things worse with moves made — or not made — in the offseason? Sure, they have, especially now that we have the benefit of hindsight.

Hindsight may be 20-20, but foresight is what’s needed, and it’s not easy to even know where to look. This kind of losing clouds the view.

For now, short of brooming everyone — which isn’t likely — the goal is to win a game.

A. Single. Game.

It won’t be easy. No team is going to want to be the one to end the Pistons’ streak.

Get that game and the conversation turns away from history, at least for a bit. Sometimes all a team can do is find a sliver of light.

Bojan Bogdanovic won't single-handedly fix the Pistons. But his presence will help

Published 11:00 a.m. ET Dec. 3, 2023 | Updated 6:49 p.m. ET Dec. 3, 2023

Monty Williams planned to be judicious with Bojan Bogdanovic’s minutes. But ultimately, the veteran forward forced the Detroit Pistons head coach's hand.

In his season debut after missing the Pistons’ first 19 games, Bogdanovic scored 22 points on 7-for-15 shooting. He immediately looked like the player who averaged an efficient 21.6 points in Cade Cunningham’s absence last season, knocking down his first 3-pointer and keeping the Pistons in the mix late with another stepback 3.

It wasn’t enough for a Pistons team that hasn’t entered the win column in more than a month. They fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers at home Saturday night, 110-101, to extend their franchise-worst losing streak to 17.

Bogdanovic didn’t fix the team’s ongoing issues with turnovers — they committed 16, off of which Cleveland scored 21 points. And Detroit still struggled with cold spells, giving up a late 15-5 run that allowed the Cavaliers to pull away late. But he gives them a needed offensive weapon.

Williams acknowledged he’s still figuring out how to maximize the team’s bench minutes. Bogdanovic was with the second unit in his first game back, but ended up playing 27 minutes and closing the fourth quarter alongside four starters.

“I probably extended him a bit too much, but we have a few days off so we felt like he could recover,” Williams said. “I ran some stuff down the stretch for him and I think he was a bit gassed at that moment. I just love having him out there on the floor. His energy, his feel for the game, his ability to draw fouls, talk on the floor. That’s something we certainly need.”

Bogdanovic said he strained his right calf right before training camp, then suffered another setback in November that delayed his return to December. He has had calf issues dating back to his previous stop with the Utah Jazz, and the Pistons wanted to be cautious with the 34-year-old forward.

But he didn’t miss a beat in his return. And the hope is that, beyond his scoring, he will also give the team a stabilizing presence in moments where they tend to give up big runs. Bogdanovic did his part by knocking down a late stepback 3-pointer that brought the Pistons within three late. His next attempt went wide, and Detroit couldn’t overcome five late turnovers in the fourth and too many empty possessions in the final minutes.

“We have to stay calm in these moments when we’re in those black holes that we have every game,” Bogdanovic said. “We were up seven, I think, and I hit a wide-open 3 on the left side to extend the lead up to 10, and then Georges Niang hit a 3 on the other side. We lose that energy and focus and then we allow them to go on another run. We gotta stay together and be more focused and slow the game down.”

Williams said earlier in the season that the initial plan was to play Bogdanovic with the first unit. He’s toyed with his lineups in search of a solution, and debuted a new one on Saturday with Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren. It’s unclear if Bogdanovic will eventually join the starters.

Detroit’s second unit couldn't find a rhythm on Saturday — all of the starters had positive plus-minuses, and all five bench players finished in the negatives. Bogdanovic could give the unit an offensive lift. There were stretches on Tuesday where he sat on the bench with most of the starters, and the Pistons suffered in those minutes.

“Overall, we still had some timely turnovers and some possessions that didn’t look that great, where we couldn’t execute and get a shot,” Williams said. “That certainly hurt us. Look at the points we gave them on turnovers. You look at our defense tonight, I thought our defense was pretty good. The points we gave them off turnovers really hurt us. That’s something I have to figure out, the group coming into the game. We’ve got to get a bit more efficient with that group and make sure we get a shot and execute our stuff.”

Williams sees Bogdanovic as an extension of himself, thanks to his basketball smarts and the direction he gives his teammates on the sidelines and in practice. If that translates to the floor, perhaps the Pistons will find a way to break their streak.

But it’s not solely on Bogdanovic to fix the Pistons' mistakes. It’s good to have him back, but the team will have to become more disciplined to enter the win column again.

“He’s the one guy that, outside of pretty much me, he can really coach guys up about things that matter,” Williams said. “And they take it well for him because I think they have respect for how he goes about his business. Obviously his skill, his competitive side. I think that it can have a great effect on us.

“As I said before, we still have to do certain things consistently to have great production on the floor — taking care of the ball, and fouling. That’s something that each player can control. And then being able to stay with our defense. I thought it was a lot better last game even though Brunson hit some crazy shots. I thought the defense was in a much better place and the edge of the team is in a better place. I don’t want to put all this pressure on Bogey to save the day. It has to be an unreal team effort.”