2009-2010 Finish: 32-50

What went bad

The Pistons have hovered in a space between playoffs and non-playoffs for years now. Although the team has made the postseason every year since 2006, they seem to blink out early. I can’t even remember when the team had a superstar to lead them. Instead, the Pistons have been a collection of blue-collar guys playing hard under long-term GM Dert.

The season began with Ron Artest ignoring his own hype and re-upping with the team. The team also signed center Rasheed Wallace with its MLE. With Sheed in place, Dert sent off Mehmet Okur and Jawad Williams to Thunder for Boris Diaw and Nathan Jawai. Not really the best deal for the Pistons. Then the season began and the Pistons began to lose. And lose and lose and lose. Dert dumped team cancer Eddy Curry, but that didn’t seem to help. They continued to lose.

Next, they moved Sheed and Carlos Boozer to the Cavs for Kevin Garnett and Tyler Hansbrough. KG ripped it up during his short stint with the Pistons, but the team couldn’t recover from the devastating open to the season. Next, Dert sent Artest and Jordan Farmar to the Jazz for Tony Allen and Mike Conley. The following week, KG followed them to Utah along with Shaun Livingston for Zach Randolph and Wilson Chandler. Great turnaround for KG but then Chandler got hurt. Finally, Dert sent longtime center Nick Collison and nutcase Delonte West to the Wizards for Hedo Turkoglu and Josh McRoberts.

What went worse

The Pistons never recovered from the slow start and finished with the worst record on the books. Fans began to call for the removal of GM Dert. Their wish would be granted soon enough…

Stars

- Zach Randolph, FC -

Sure, KG was tearing up Motown, but Z-Bo was a great return. He remained healthy and nearly averaged a double-double on the season, scoring 21.8ppg and hauling in 9.6 rebounds. He is also younger than KG and a great guy to build the franchise around now that his health issues appear worked out.

Goats

- Eddy Curry, C –

Even waived, Curry continues to haunt the Pistons. Soon to be known as Dert’s Folly, Curry sits on the team’s payroll like a heavy Indian meal. Get the Ex-Lax for these poor guys.




Looking to the future

With pick number seven, the Pistons selected Wake Forest sophomore Al-Farouq Aminu. The small forward is one of the best athletes in the draft that can rebound and defend like mad. He can’t really shoot yet, but he has tons of upside. At pick 37, Dert reached and selected Florida State sophomore Solomon Alabi. The center is a monster and only needs to put his body in the lane to cause problems for opponents. Beyond that, his skill are pretty null.

After the draft, the biggest news of the year came when Dert announced he was leaving the Pistons for the Los Angeles Clippers. While many fans were sad to see him go, many local bloggers wrote about the sorry state he left the Pistons in. So the Dert era comes to a close in Detroit without the team making it out of the first round in the playoffs once. Will his bad luck follow him to Los Angeles?

As for the Pistons, they come into the season already over the cap, thanks to Curry’s fat salary. The new GM will come in with a decent foundation but could probably move Brooks or Mike Conley for some other pieces. Diaw and Chandler are both good and can start at a few positions and Turkoglu can still shoot. The Pistons will have to shore up the bench this offseason and spend their money wisely. Then get a GM in there that will help them win.