NBA teams
Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Detroit Pistons: '14-15 Forecast

Detroit Pistons

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OVERVIEW

No team in recent memory has demonstrated the difference between fantasy basketball and the real thing more than last season's Detroit Pistons. With a promising foundation of Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe, Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings, on paper, the Pistons looked like a threat. Nevertheless, Detroit's attempt at fielding a 1990s-style big lineup flopped like an angry marlin.

Smith began chucking 3-pointers as if he were the reincarnate of Larry Bird. Jennings decried his task of becoming a pass-first point guard and looked out of sync in the role. Monroe bristled at his lack of touches, and his development stagnated. Only emerging star Drummond took a step forward, and his foul shooting should be declared a federal crime. The failed experiment turned out to be one rebuilding plan gone awry too many for longtime Pistons executive Joe Dumars, who ultimately stepped down.

Enter everybody's favorite optimist, Stan Van Gundy, who will try to clean things up with more organizational clout than he ever had with the Miami Heat or Orlando Magic. Van Gundy is now Detroit's czar both in the front office and on the sideline, and he's tasked with completing a puzzle with pieces that might well just not fit.

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