Detroit Pistons' Complete Season Preview: 10 Questions

The Detroit Pistons are on the precipice of something.

It's hard to know if that something is good or bad, but something is brewing in Detroit that is making the upcoming Pistons season one that should be interesting on several levels.

In assessing the team's prospects this year, a number of factors will come into play.

How will the rookies adjust given the short exhibition season? Can veterans like Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva and Jason Maxiell bounce back? Can Greg Monroe take the next step in his development? Can Jonas Jerebko bounce back from an Achilles injury?

Given all these questions, there are a myriad of possibilities for this team. Here are the 10 most interesting storylines for the Detroit Pistons.

Who Will Be the Starting Shooting Guard?

The Detroit Pistons had the luxury of a very consistent shooting guard for the better part of a decade. Once the team dealt Jerry Stackhouse for Rip Hamilton, they had a guard who was capable of leading the team in scoring every year.

By most accounts, the loss of Hamilton was very much a case of addition by subtraction as he had worn out his welcome in Detroit. Furthermore, he was taking minutes away from other players who are capable of playing big roles.

So who will step up and become the starting shooting guard?

This really comes down to whether the team is comfortable with Brandon Knight as their starting point guard.

If Knight can take the keys to this franchise, then the team can transition Rodney Stuckey into the team's primary wing scorer.

However, if new coach Lawrence Frank takes the conservative approach with Knight, then Stuckey will resume his starting point guard duties, pushing Ben Gordon into this role.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both. Gordon is a terrible defender, and is purely a scorer at this point in his career. But he is perhaps the team's best three-point shooter.

Stuckey can't shoot to save his life from downtown, but he can penetrate at will and is perhaps the most athletic player on the roster.

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Stuckey is too inconsistent of a point guard, and has spent too much time away from the team to start camp. Additionally, Knight has provided excitement for this bunch, and there will be pressure on Frank to start him right away, which is the right move.

Look for Stuckey to become the starting shooting guard by the end of the first week of the season, and keep the job.

The only question is whether he can accept his new role. Personally, I think that Stuckey has the potential to be an explosive scorer in this role, although he was drastically overpaid considering his resume with this club.

Can Brandon Knight Break Out?

Few people envisioned Brandon Knight falling all the way to Detroit in this year's draft. He was a consensus top five pick, and some even saw him going in the top three.

So why did he slip? There are plenty of reasons some have suspected, but the biggest one was the European flavor to this year's draft, considering the up-in-the-air nature of the CBA negotiations.

Teams thought that there might be a protracted lockout, and figured that European players could stay overseas in the meantime and become further seasoned.

Knight is an explosive talent. He can shoot, get to the hoop and is a far better court general than many want to admit.

He is, however, very young. There will be growing pains. But Knight has the potential to become very good in a point guard-driven league.

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Look for Knight to become the face of this franchise very quickly. Stuckey is a better scorer, Greg Monroe is very talented, and Tayshaun Prince is the last productive link to the past. But Knight is an explosive guard in a time in which that is what runs this league.

He will struggle at times, but look for a season in which he averages upwards of 14 points per game and six assists.

Can Tayshaun Prince Experience a Renaissance?

Many have questioned the re-signing of Tayshaun Prince.

I think this was perhaps the best move that Detroit made this offseason. They are a team in transition, but Prince is no bad apple.

He also is not a transcendent player.

He is a glue player who is a perfectionist on the court. He knows how to play the right way, and he expects as much from his teammates.

That has led to some bad body language and what some have seen as a pouty demeanor.

But Prince was brought back to be the leader of this team, and I personally can see him embracing this role. He no longer has Rip holding him back, and he doesn't have any players on the roster who can look down on him accomplishments-wise.

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Look for Prince to be a much different player this year. He is smart enough to know that the culture is changing in Detroit, and he needs to lead or get out of the way.

I can see Prince having a career-high number in points per game and becoming the leader we want him to be.

Will Austin Daye Finally Prove His Worth?

There are few players who are more difficult to read, or more maddening to understand than Austin Daye.

He has all the tools to become a very good pro, yet he is recklessly immature, and his body still hasn't become strong enough to become anything more than a spot-up shooter.

One minute he will thrill you with a stunning low-post move, and then next he will disappear on defense.

One minute he will electrify the crowd with a clutch three pointer, and the next he will commit a turnover and then lose his focus.

Daye needs more playing time to show what he's got, but he also needs to prove this year that he was worth a first-round draft pick and can become a focal point of this team.

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I may be in the minority here, but I just don't think Daye has it. He is too timid in too many aspects of his game, and while he seems to have great range, the Pistons need more than a 7-foot three-point shooter.

Given the year that I think Prince will have, Daye will again languish in Detroit and may eventually be dealt.

Who Is More Important This Year, Jonas Jerebko or Charlie Villanueva?

Perhaps the most pleasant surprise a couple years ago was the development of Jonas Jerebko.

Few fans had heard of the Swedish import before the Pistons drafted him, but he burst onto the scene with a stunning rookie year.

However, his sophomore year was over before it began as he blew out his Achilles tendon and missed the entire year.

Now he is back, and the Pistons faithful are excited to see him.

So why is it that Charlie Villanueva is more important to this year's fortunes?

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Villanueva needs to finally show that he has the skill to match his Twitter feed.

Now I don't think that Villanueva is a future member of this team, and over the long term, Jerebko will prove the better player hands down.

But Detroit needs to deal Villanueva, and I think that Frank can get the most out of the lethargic big man.

This will enable the Pistons to trade him to a contender that doesn't know any better, which hopefully will bring back another draft pick.

This year's draft is sure to be quite deep, and we will need all the help we can get.

Who Will Be This Year's Most Important Player?

The Detroit Pistons need a number of players to break out this year.

Brandon Knight needs to become a dynamic playmaker, Rodney Stuckey needs to prove he is indeed the poor man's D-Wade, and Ben Gordon needs to get his act together.

But the most important player this year will be Greg Monroe.

Monroe became a very consistent player last year, routinely picking up double-doubles during the season's second half.

This year, he will need to build on that if the team is going to move forward.

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Look for Monroe to really put it all together this year.

He is the only legit big man on the team, and he will have a lot of pressure on him.

But he has the right makeup for that role, and should become a very good center this year.

Look for Monroe to average 12-15 points and 10 boards per contest.

Can Ben Gordon Become the Player He Was in Chicago?

When Ben Gordon joined Detroit, he was coming off of a dynamic playoff series against the Boston Celtics.

He was a great shooter and could score against anyone.

Detroit won the bidding on him, and the rest should have been sweet music.

But Gordon entered a terrible situation, one in which his talents were wasted, and he was left to atrophy on the bench.

So can he bounce back this year?

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The answer is complicated.

Can he score like he did in Chicago? Probably not.

Can he become a productive player? Most definitely.

Gordon should have a solid year this season now that Hamilton has been moved. However, I just don't see him scoring 20 points per game like he did in Chicago.

A better thought is that he will become a super sub once again, but average closer to 14 points per game while reclaiming his shooting touch.

That being said, he is a strong candidate to get the amnesty next year, or perhaps get dealt. He is just too expensive to keep around for what he delivers.

Is Lawrence Frank the Right Man for the Job?

Personally, I was not a huge fan of the Frank hiring. I thought he was overrated in New Jersey, and his exit was truly ugly.

But I have been warming up to the guy lately, and he is truly saying all the right things.

Furthermore, he has already forgotten more about coaching than John Kuester and Michael Curry will ever know.

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This is a marriage of convenience. Frank needs to prove that he belongs in the NBA, and the Pistons need to prove that they can get along with a coach.

I think that this can work, as long as he is fair and consistent. He needs to have a backbone, but he also needs to treat the players with respect.

I think he has the stones to deal with the 'Stons. The key is whether they will let him in.

Is Joe Dumars on the Hot Seat?

Joe Dumars has had a legendary career.

He has won titles as both a player and an executive, which is quite the rarity in this or any league.

But he also has been capable of some moronic moves.

There are too many to list here, as I have been a vocal critic of Dumars.

So is he on the hot seat?

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This is a no-brainer. Absolutely!

You don't do to a franchise what he has done and not become a question mark.

That being said, I think the new ownership group wants to see this work, but they aren't married to Dumars.

I also don't think Dumars is as dumb as some (see Simmons, Bill) think he is.

He is on a bit of a losing streak in some regards, and a hot streak in others.

His drafts have been excellent, but his signings are ridiculously inconsistent.

He got a great deal on Prince, but bid against himself on Stuckey. He got great value on Chris Wilcox, but kicked the pooch on Gordon and Villanueva.

Dumars should get one more year, but he needs to show some improvement from this team, and for the love of all things sacred, can he please get another big man?

How Will They Do This Year?

The rest of the East just got really good, and the Pistons are marginally better at best.

They have some very dynamic backcourt players, but they are woefully thin up front.

They have some really interesting young players, but they also have some question marks amongst the veterans.

They weeded out some of the bad apples, but they need much more production from some of the players who remained.

Smart Money

This team could show some glimpses of improvement, but this will be a rebuilding season at the very least this year.

Look for some of the young players to take major strides this year, and Prince and Stuckey should be very good in their new roles.

That being said, it is hard to imagine this team winning more than 20 games this year. They just don't have enough size up front to keep anyone from overpowering them in the post.

Look for the Pistons to miss the playoffs yet again, but they should at least be a team we can root for again.