The Detroit Pistons’ historic turnaround last season was helped in large part by an influx of solid veterans compared to the season prior. Of those veterans, Tim Hardaway Jr and Dennis Schroder (who was acquired at the trade deadline) have now left for other teams in free agency while Malik Beasley has pending federal investigation related to gambling irregularities and not currently signed by any team. These players’ on-court contributions will be missed, but their effect on the team culture was also important.
The Pistons’ team culture completely turned around last season and went from a sense of defeat and despair to one of confidence and swagger.