The Detroit Pistons are most known around the NBA for the good old days of the late 1980's with the likes of Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Bill Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman and a multitude of other players in the 'Bad Boys' era. The ones that would ultimately dethrone Larry Bird's Celtics and Magic Johnson's Lakers. Since those days, they have gone through rough patches, including a current streak that spans over seven-straight losing seasons, and a downhill turn since the Darko Milicic selection in 2003's NBA Draft.
It appears as though Stan Van Gundy and the Pistons are headed in a new direction with the selection of Stanley Johnson with the eighth overall selection in last night's NBA Draft. While Reggie Jackson may not be Thomas, he brings that fun positive attitude to the team, and is a great team player on and off the court at this point. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was Dumars's last draft pick as the general manager, and brings the shooting and perimeter defense that Dumars brought to the 80's and 90' Pistons teams. Stanley Johnson brings that grit and toughness on the defensive side of the ball, to go along with timely shooting when needed. That combination of tools resembles important role players like Rick Mahorn, Adrian Dantley, Mark Aguirre, John Salley and Vinnie Johnson. Newly acquired forward Ersan Ilyasova resembles a player from the more recent 2004 championship squad, Rasheed Wallace. Then there's Detroit's centerpiece, big man Andre Drummond, who plays the Laimbeer role as a strong post player who produces at a high level. Drummond may not be as "bad" as Laimbeer was, but his production and post presence is a valuable asset to this Pistons roster.
This years Pistons squad and those of the near future look to have a good bench, should nobody change squads. Brandon Jennings is a full-time starter on most teams, and will be a key sixth man unless traded. The rest of the bench could improve and have depth unseen since the days of 2004 and even as far back as the 1988 squad.
What Stan Van Gundy is doing is trying to get the Pistons fan base back. By doing that he is assembling a fun team to watch, a winning team, and a team that goes back to its roots. It's championship roots. This group of talent could bring the team back to relevance as soon as the 2016 NBA season.