The Detroit Pistons traded away big man Andre Drummond on Thursday at the NBA trade deadline. Detroit shipped off its most consistently effective player for two seldom-used reserves and a late draft pick in 2023.
The Pistons made the move as much for financial reasons as anything, but the net impact of losing Drummond effectively ends any lingering chance the team sniffs the playoffs in 2020. And while the Pistons were not close to being a contender, giving away a player who posted 31 points and 19 rebounds in a home win one night earlier has delivered a major blow to disconsolate fans.
Now the Pistons are destined to be bad. Perhaps very bad, something they haven’t been in two decades. The last time Detroit picked in the top five was 2002-2003.
Fans are not taking it well. Callers to talk radio and social media posts bemoan the lack of return, the lack of vision from Pistons ownership and management, and cry about how unwatchable the product will be for the foreseeable future.
Or as Eli Bashi summed up nicely in a tweet, the reality of tanking is a lot worse than the more abstract thought of getting rid of quality players and actively trying to lose.
That would be true of the Lions as well. As a hypothetical, let’s say the Lions trade Pro Bowl CB Darius Slay for a 3rd-round pick in 2021 and a backup offensive tackle, the rough football equivalent of what the Pistons dumped Drummond to get. A bad Lions defense gets even worse.
Does it help achieve the rock bottom many fans outwardly covet? Heck yes it does. But the reality of being a fan steps in. Being so terrible sucks the life, the passion, the fun out of fandom. It leads to anger, or worse — apathy.
The Lions have been down that road, unintentionally. Between that experience just over a decade ago and the crazy reaction to the Pistons making a smart business decision to get much worse on the court is why the Lions are never going to just give away players or give up trying to win. They know it’s simply not a viable plan, even if it might be the right way to go.
