Detroit Pistons New Addition Already Ramping up for 2024-25 Season
After finishing with the NBA's worst record last season, it's been a summer of change for the Detroit Pistons. Trajan Langdon was brought in to run the front office, Monty Williams was removed as head coach, and numerous veterans have been added to the roster.
At the beginning of July, Langdon executed a trade with the Dallas Mavericks to acquire Tim Hardaway Jr. and second-round picks in exchange for Quentin Grimes. Along with Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley, he'll help provide a veteran presence around the Pistons' young core.
With a little over a month left until the start of training camp, Hardaway Jr. seems to already be ramping up for next season. Clips recently surfaced on social media of the journeyman guard working out in the gym.
Hardaway Jr, 31, is still a productive guard off the bench over a decade into his NBA career. Last season with the Dallas Mavericks, he averaged 14.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 1.8 APG. He is also an effective floor space, shooting 35.3% from deep on nearly eight attempts per game.
Floor spacing was an issue for the Pistons last season, and Langdon has adressed that problem in the offseason. Having a high-volume shooter like THJ on the floor should help open things up for Cade Cunningham on the offensive end.
For the Pistons, Hardaway Jr. will likely come off the bench in J.B. Bickerstaff's rotation. Since no backup point guard was added to the roster, Marcus Sasser will likely assume this role after taking it on at the end of last season. Seeing that Hardaway Jr. has a lot of experience on the ball, he could split ballhandling duties with the young guard to make things easier for him as he continues to develop.