NBA Preseason Power Rankings: Where do the New Orleans Pelicans land?

29. Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons did a really good job in the 2020 NBA Draft, in fact, it was my personal opinion that they were one of the draft’s biggest winners. A haul of Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart, and Saddiq Bey looks like the foundation of an excellent young core in Detroit, however, the rest of their offseason was extremely questionable.

The Pistons went on a spending spree signing a promising young player in Jerami Grant and then adding bigs like Mason Plumlee and former New Orleans Pelicans center Jahlil Okafor. Add in Derrick Rose and an injury-riddled Blake Griffin, this Pistons team could be okay but I feel like they’re in limbo. They don’t know what type of basketball team they’re going to be yet.

28. Chicago Bulls

I wouldn’t sleep on the Bulls this season, but I also don’t think they’re there quite yet. I loved that the organization went out and hired Arturas Karnisovas from Denver to lead their front office, and I think replacing Jim Boylen with Billy Donovan was a smart move, but their roster hasn’t changed much.

This Bulls team is still very young with Colby White, Zach Lavine, Lauri Markkanen, and Wendell Carter Jr. headling the team’s core and they only got younger by selecting Patrick Williams with the 4th overall pick in the draft. Are these young players ready to win at a high level now, because they weren’t last year? In the end, it feels like Karnisovas still has some moves he’s waiting to make with this Bulls team.