The Detroit Pistons are still looking for the right moment to deploy Kevin Huerter in full since acquiring the eighth-year wing at the Trade Deadline
Leading up to the NBA Trade Deadline this season, the Detroit Pistons pulled off a three-team trade that sent one of the team’s more polarizing players in Jaden Ivey to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Kevin Huerter, Dario Saric and a first-round pick swap with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
After three and a half seasons in Detroit, Ivey’s potential continued to trend downward as he struggled to recover from a series of lower body issues within the last 14 months, so the Pistons opted to move on from the once-explosive combo guard in exchange for a more established perimeter threat ahead of the playoffs. Even though Ivey’s three-point shot was steadying ahead of the trade, Huerter is a career 37% shooter from behind the arc, and that’s the precise profile that the Pistons needed to add to their squad.
But since his move to Detroit, Huerter has been integrated into the Pistons’ rotation slowly, perhaps a bit slower than many had expected. So far, Huerter has featured in a total of five games for Detroit, which includes his Feb. 5 debut against the Washington Wizards, though he’s connected on just one out of his 10 three-point attempts thus far– not exactly the type of perimeter production that the Pistons anticipated.
After Detroit’s eight-point win over the Oklahoma City Thunder last night, Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff spoke about what’s going into the thought process behind Huerter’s playing time, or lack thereof, over the past month.
“Just trying to find ways to get him comfortable, trying to find ways to get him opportunities,” Bickerstaff said. “Like I said, he’s in a difficult spot, and it’s not his fault. Our guys have been playing well, so trying to find somebody who doesn’t deserve to play to give him minutes isn’t going to be always easy, but I’ve got to do the job of giving him opportunities because he can help us win. There’s no doubt about that. He’s a very good basketball player. When he was with the Atlanta team, he helped them go on a long run. So. we believe in his ability, I’ve just got to find a way to balance his opportunity versus what the other guys have earned also.”
Against the Thunder, Huerter touched the floor for the first time in over a week after picking up three consecutive DNPs, and the eighth-year wing out of Maryland missed his singular three-point attempt in the matchup, though he was repeatedly ignored for open looks by Caris LeVert during the contest. Overall, Huerter is 8-for-20 on FGs since joining the Pistons with an eight-point game against the Knicks and a nine-point performance against the Raptors under his belt this month.
At this point in the season, Bickerstaff has his 10-man rotation mostly worked out ahead of the playoffs, so it will be difficult for Huerter to significantly crack the Pistons’ lineup moving forward. However, Bickerstaff has confidence in the vet to deliver when his time is called.
Ideally, the Pistons would like to find more opportunity for Huerter to build on-court chemistry with his teammates throughout the final quarter of the regular season, at the very least so that the 6-6 guard / forward can see the ball go through the net a few times in hopes of sparking some rhythm at a crucial moment.
Looking ahead, the Pistons have another home game on the docket as the Cleveland Cavaliers arrive in the Motor City tomorrow for a 7 pm tip-off at Little Caesars Arena.
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