Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Earlier this month, the Detroit Pistons acquired Monte Morris from the Washington Wizards in exchange for a future second-round pick.
In trading for the veteran point guard, the Pistons were able to acquire someone who has always wanted to play for them.
Some fans might be surprised to hear Morris’ declaration, but it makes sense as the 28-year-old is from Grand Rapids, Mich. His hometown is about two hours away from The Palace of Auburn Hills, which is where the Pistons played from 1988 to 2017.
During that time, the Pistons won all three of their NBA championships, including back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990. They didn’t win another ring until 2004, when they upset the star-studded Los Angeles Lakers.
It seems unlikely that Morris and the Pistons will win a title this season, but unlikely things happen all the time in sports. No matter what happens in the 2023-24 campaign, Morris is likely content just playing for his hometown team.
Morris is coming off a productive season in which he averaged 10.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game on 48.0 percent shooting from the field and 38.2 percent shooting from beyond the arc for the Wizards.
Before playing for the Wizards, Morris spent four seasons with the Denver Nuggets, the team that drafted him in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft.
The Iowa State University product has been consistent for just about all of his NBA career and is poised to become one of the league’s best backup point guards this coming season.
Detroit has added some solid talent this offseason and appears to be ready to take a step forward in its rebuild, but it likely won’t be making a ton of noise this season.
The future is bright for the Pistons with Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, 2023 first-round draft pick Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren leading the way.
Morris, Joe Harris and Bojan Bogdanovic are valuable veterans who can offer tons of knowledge and help mentor some of the team’s youngsters.
Perhaps the team is able to really connect well and surprise the league by making it to the postseason. Only time will tell if that’s in the cards.
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