Although the name still catches people's attention, the play he brings with it wasn't enough to impress Stan Van Gundy. The new Pistons head coach cut Hasheem Thabeet, the 2009 lottery pick, this week, as well as forward Brian Cook and guards Lorenzo Brown and Josh Bostis. The three latter players saw some action during the pre-season, but Thabeet played a total of five minutes throughout the preseason.
With the Pistons final pre-season coming up against the 76ers, Stan Van Gundy now has a better idea of the final roster he will use. Although he still has 15 on the roster, rookie Spencer Dinwiddie is still recovering from a torn ACL since January. So, for the meantime, the roster features 13 healthy players, since newly aquired shooting guard Jodie Meeks is also hurt.
The Pistons brought in depth to their frontcourt by trading point guard Will Bynum to the Celtics for veteran center Joel Anthony. The former Heat starter has been mostly a role player since leaving Miami in 2012, but will join Jonas Jerebko and Aaron Gray as the teams reserve big men.
The biggest question for the Pistons now is, with Meeks out for at least a month, will SVG start point guards Brandon Jennings and D.J. Augustin together? They worked well together in the Pistons last win over the Charlotte Hornets, but second-year shooting guard Kenatavius Caldwell-Pope seems to be the likely choice for the two guard spot alongside Jennings.
At the small forward spot, it appears the Pistons will go with former Blue Devil Kyle Singler, and elect to bring Josh Smith off the bench. Veteran Caron Butler, who was picked up by the team in July, also figures to be in the mix. Singler and Butler, as proven three-point shooters, will be vital to the team, as SVG's system relies on strong perimeter shooting, which the Pistons struggled with in 2013.
With Dinwiddie expected to return around Christmas time, the Pistons will have to be creative with their guard rotation. Meeks, KCP, Augustin, Jennings and Dinwidde will likely be mixed and matched by SVG as he sees fit.