The number that most graphically speaks to the misfortune that befell the Pistons 2023-24 season is this one: 30.
That’s how many players have worn their uniform this season, tying the NBA record set by Houston during the 2020-21 season, one in which roster rules were relaxed to accommodate all of the COVID-19 absences. The previous record for the Pistons was 27 in 2021-22. The Pistons broke that when Taj Gibson was signed to a 10-day contract in early March and then for the rest of the season once that expired.
And then they blew past it last week when they added Chimezie Metu on a 10-day contract and elevated Buddy Boeheim from his two-way deal with the Motor City Cruise and used him for the first time this season in Wednesday’s loss to Indiana. Those moves accompanied news that both Ausar Thompson and Isaiah Stewart would miss the remainder of the season, Thompson after being treated for a blood clot and Stewart after suffering a hamstring injury.
While blood clots can be serious, there was seeming good news in the Pistons statement on Thompson being already cleared to start conditioning, to resume basketball activity at the end of the season and to ramp up for a normal 2024-25 season.
“It’s just one of those things we’ve dealt with all year long from an injury standpoint,” Monty Williams said of the revolving door that has put him and his staff in a constant state of lineup tinkering. “But I’m excited about continuing the ‘run through the tape mentality’ and have some of the new guys who’ve been working their tails off and competing. The positive attitude our guys have had all season long, it’s been really impressive. I didn’t necessarily foresee anything like this, but I certainly enjoy the challenges of developing and coaching in these situations because you learn a lot about yourselves, some things you can do going forward and some things not to do, as well. These are growth moments for our ballclub.”
The Pistons lost another for the season, Stanley Umude, when he turned an ankle against Indiana and tests showed a hairline fracture.
Of the 30 players to play for the Pistons this season, 11 were with the Pistons in some capacity when the season opened and remain on the roster today: Cunningham, Thompson, Stewart, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Marcus Sasser, James Wiseman, Jared Rhoden, Umude, Tosan Evbuomwan and Boeheim, though Evbuomwan did make a brief pit stop in Memphis on a 10-day contract before the Pistons got him back, first on a 10-day deal and then on a two-way contract. Boeheim, who played on a two-way contract last season, came to training camp on an Exhibit 10 deal this season and spent the year playing for the Motor City Cruise before the Pistons waived Malcolm Cazalon and added Boeheim on a two-way deal in February.
Another eight players who began the season with the Pistons either on a standard or two-way contract are no longer with the franchise: Killian Hayes, Marvin Bagley III, Alec Burks, Isaiah Livers, Bojan Bogdanovic, Monte Morris, Joe Harris and Cazalon. Another four players didn’t start the season with the Pistons and are no longer on the roster: Kevin Knox, Shake Milton, Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala. And seven players currently on the roster weren’t with the Pistons to start the season: Simone Fontecchio, Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Troy Brown Jr., Malachi Flynn, Gibson and Metu.
PISTONS TRIVA
What ex-Pistons player was drafted in the eighth round in both 1972 and 1973?
A: Ben Kelso
B: Larry Kenon
C: Al Eberhard
D: Marvin Roberts
THIS WEEK IN PISTONS HISTORY
On March 26, 2007, Rasheed Wallace hit a 60-foot shot at the buzzer to send the Pistons game with the Denver Nuggets into overtime at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons went on to win the game 113-109. The Pistons trailed 98-95 with 1.5 seconds left and looked hopelessly out of it when Denver merely had to inbound the ball successfully at mid-court and perhaps shoot free throws with the Pistons expected to foul immediately. But Tayshaun Prince deflected the inbounds pass and Wallace heaved the ball from near the Pistons bench to the opposite basket, banking the shot in. “We shoot those all the time before the game,” said Wallace, a notorious trick-shot artist. “This one went in.” Chauncey Billups was brilliant with 34 points and 10 assists as the win lifted the Pistons to 45-25 on their way to a 59-23 record good for the No. 2 seed in the East behind the 66-win Boston Celtics. Wallace finished with 22 points and nine rebounds and Antonio McDyess came off the bench to contribute 20 points and 11 boards. Marcus Camby led Denver with 24 points and 13 rebounds while Carmelo Anthony was limited to 13 points on 6 of 19 shooting.
THE WEEK AHEAD
- MONDAY – For the second straight week, the Pistons follow a Sunday home matinee with a quick trip to the East Coast and a back-to-back against a top-four seed in the conference. Last week it was Boston, this week New York. The Knicks are coming off a Saturday matinee win over Brooklyn, their first game following a 3-1 West Coast road trip that opened with wins over Portland, Sacramento and Golden State before ending in defeat at Denver. New York is 42-28 and in a dogfight with Cleveland and Orlando for the 3-4-5 spots in the playoff chase. The Knicks have stayed afloat despite lengthy injury absences to Julius Randle, O.G. Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson, though Robinson has recently returned to practice.
7:30 p.m. on BALLY SPORTS DETROIT and 97.1 THE TICKET FM
- WEDNESDAY – The Pistons continue their three-game road trip with a stop at Minnesota, where the Timberwolves start the week with a 49-22 record after Sunday’s win over Golden State. Minnesota is on the heels of Denver and Oklahoma City, who occupy the top two seeds in the Western Conference, despite being without Karl-Anthony Towns for the past nine games with a knee injury. Minnesota hopes to have him back for the postseason. Minnesota has the No. 1-ranked defense in the NBA, anchored by three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. Naz Reid has stepped into Towns’ place in the starting lineup and is having the best season of his career, averaging 13.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in 23 minutes a game.
8 p.m. on BALLY SPORTS DETROIT and 97.1 THE TICKET FM
- FRIDAY – The Pistons wrap up their week and their road trip with a stop in Washington, where the Wizards start the week with a two-game winning streak that vaulted them over the Pistons in the standings with 13 wins to 12 for Detroit. Like the Pistons, Washington will have Monday and Wednesday games leading up to Friday’s matchup. Ex-Pistons center Marvin Bagley III is averaging 13.3 points and 8.5 rebounds for the Wizards in 19 games since the January trade, though he just returned for the win over Toronto on Friday night after missing the previous nine games with a back injury.
7 p.m. on BALLY SPORTS DETROIT and 97.1 THE TICKET FM
TRIVIA ANSWER
Ben Kelso was taken in the eighth round each season, going 117th overall in 1972 and 129th in 1973. In that era, before the NBA allowed players with remaining college eligibility to apply for the draft, there was something called the “four-year rule.” That meant that players who had enrolled in college four years before the draft but still had remaining college eligibility – whether because they’d redshirted a season or had to sit out a year after transferring from one school to another – could be drafted, though not signed, a year early. Larry Bird, famously, was drafted with the sixth pick in 1978 by Red Auerbach’s Boston Celtics and went back to Indiana State to lead the Sycamores to the 1979 NCAA championship game against Magic Johnson and Michigan State. Bird signed with Boston before the 1979 draft to avoid being put back in the draft pool. Kelso did not sign with the Pistons before the 1973 draft out of Central Michigan, where he missed the 1971-72 season with a knee injury but was taken in the ’72 draft because then-Pistons coach Ray Scott admired his work ethic and felt he would boost team chemistry as a hard-working bench player. Kelso played one season, 1973-74, with the Pistons but was waived the following year when Dave Bing held out for more money and Scott felt he needed more scoring punch in his absence, using Kelso’s roster spot to find a Bing surrogate. Kelso would go on to become a wildly successful high school coach, piloting Detroit Cooley to three straight Class A state titles in 1987-89 and doing it with teams built on defense and extraordinary discipline. He later coached at Southfield, Waterford and Pontiac schools. Kelso was named coach of the year by the National High School Coaches Association in 1989. He’s a member of the Central Michigan University Hall of Fame.
(Eddie Rivero, Pistons basketball information specialist, contributed to this report.)