2014-2015 Finish: 18-64, Last in the Eastern Conference

Season Highlight: The acquisition of Eric Bledsoe seemed to be a bright spot for the Pistons in this very down year. Bledsoe was acquired in a deal that sent Tyler Ennis and the Piston’s 1st round pick, which became the 3rd overall pick, and Jahlil Okafor. Even though his points per game went down, Bledsoe still provided Piston fans something they’d been lacking the whole year; hope for the future. Being only 25 and a rising star, Bledsoe provides the Pistons with something better than the 1st round pick could’ve given them; an experienced player who can make an instant impact.

Season Lowlight: Even with the hope that Bledsoe brought with him, the Pistons could still not avoid a last place finish in the East. They finished 12th the year before, as the mediocre team got worse. They made improvements however, and shouldn’t finish as the cellar dwellar next year.

Best Trade:  The Detroit Pistons send Jonas Jerebko and Landry Fields to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Detroit Pistons sendTyler Ennis to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The New Orleans Pelicans send Victor Claver, Eric Bledsoe andMalcolm Thomas to the Detroit Pistons. The Oklahoma City Thunder send Trey Burke to the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Detroit Pistons send a 1st-Rounder (Det) to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Oklahoma City Thunder send a2nd-Rounder (Dal) and 2nd-Rounder (Pho) to the Detroit Pistons.

The Detroit Pistons receive 6 GM points. The New Orleans Pelicans trade -6 GM points.

As I mentioned prior, the deal that brought Bledsoe to the Pistons provided the team with some hope. Even though they gave up the 1st rounder, the Pistons realized that if they wanted to get into the playoff picture sooner rather than later, they needed some established, but younger talent. Outside of the 1st, the Pistons did not really give up much, and gave them the point guard of their future.

Worst Trade: The Detroit Pistons send Jonas Valanciunas, Anthony Bennett and Trey Burke to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Oklahoma City Thunder send Al Horford, Isaiah Canaan and Hollis Thompson to the Detroit Pistons.

The Detroit Pistons trade -14 GM points.The Oklahoma City Thunder receive 14 GM points.

Al Horford is a fine player. He averaged 13.5 points and 11 boards as a member of the Pistons. The question is, was it really worth trading the younger Valanciunas, who was averaging 11.8 points and 12 boards? He also gave up Trey Burke, a valuable player that was soon replaced with Bledsoe. However, the fact that GM Mavs gave up these two pieces for a player who’s aging, and was getting the same production out of Valanciunas, makes this trade a head scratcher for many.

Other Moves: The Detroit Pistons send Dion Waiters to the Portland Trail Blazers. The Portland Trail Blazers send Joe Johnsonto the Detroit Pistons.

The Detroit Pistons send a 2nd-Rounder (Dal) and 2nd-Rounder (Pho) to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Detroit brought in Joe Johnson, who had spent many seasons with the Portland Blazers, and has always been a high volume scorer. When Jordan Crawford was at his peak, Crawford, Manu, and Johnson were a very scary group of players, due to their ability to score in bunches. It seems that Detroit wants to build a big 3 of its own, with Bledsoe, Johnson, and Horford. He will have Johnson on an expiring, and if he wins big, may have the chance to go for loads of free agents next year with his 25 million dollar contract coming off the books.

Best FA Signing: Steve Nash?

Worst FA Signing: No one. Most of these free agents were just waiver wire pickups.

Star: Al Horford. He was one of the rocks of this team. He amped it up at the end of year, putting up 20 point games in some meaningless games. But overall, the Pistons wouldn’t have 18 wins without Horford leading the way.

Surprise: Hollis Thompson. The youngster, who was apart of the Horford deal actually gave the Pistons a serviceable season, even starting some games. He averaged 12 points and 6 boards. Not bad for a player that not many have heard of prior to this season.

Goat: Chase Budinger. I mean it was hard to choose a goat for this team, but I went with Bud. He’s the 4th highest paid player on the team, is pretty well known, and has his starting spot taken by Hollis Thompson. He struggled, averaging an average 9.1 points and never truly completing for the starting spot.

Draft Report Card:

Pick 32: Jordan Mickey, LSU

Pick 54: Aaron White, Iowa

Detroit traded their 1st round pick in the Bledsoe deal, so they had two seconds. They selected Jordan Mickey with one. Mickey went to LSU, who I watched a lot of, and him and Jarell Martin were the two towers down low. He’s a little undersized, but is really scrappy on the boards. Aaron White is of the same mold: 6’8, around 230. Except he knows how to actually shoot free throws. White will be overseas this season, but it seems like the Pistons essentially selected two players that do the exact same things.

Looking To The Future: The future's pretty bright for the Pistons. They have Bledsoe, Horford, and Johnson leading them next season. With Johnson potentially leaving, a good record could lead the Pistons in an optimal position next year in Free Agency.

Upcoming Free Agents:

Tyler Hansbrough- Psycho T didn’t do that much for the Pistons, I wouldn’t expect him to be resigned.

Raymond Felton- Felton could be resigned as a backup to Bledsoe, as his contract will most likely be very affordable and he is a serviceable backup.

John Jenkins, Greg Smith, Greg Stiemsma, Alexey Shved- I expect the Pistons to attempt to possibly resign the 3 point specialist Jenkins and Shved potentially, but all of these guys could be let go in the end.