The new year has not been kind to the Detroit Pistons. Since the turn of the calendar, the Pistons are a disappointing two and seven, which is not ideal for a team trying to convince the world that they are true playoff contenders.
The turn of the calendar brought more bad news for the Pistons as they found out that forward Jon Leuer will be out for the rest of the 2017-2018 season.
#Pistons forward Jon Leuer tells The Detroit News he will have season-ending ankle surgery next week: "We were trying to do whatever we could to avoid this." https://t.co/qHOTYFhnQC pic.twitter.com/NFGcuYYjCR
— Rod Beard (@detnewsRodBeard) January 19, 2018
Leuer was averaging five points and four rebounds in just the eight games he appeared in before his ankle injury.
The most unfortunate aspect of this injury is that it will now be nearly impossible to trade the disappointing forward. Head coach Stan Van Gundy had high hopes for the shooting big man when he signed him to a 4-year, $42 million deal in 2016. Leuer has been unable to produce the quality of minutes that his contract suggests which makes the injury all the more frustrating.
Nuggets would need to take back another contract to match salaries. Someone like Jon Leuer, though I doubt that excites anyone. https://t.co/JgvX75NNhV
— Ryan Blackburn (@NBABlackburn) January 13, 2018
As the Leuer situation continues to disappoint, the Pistons are on the verge of letting this season slip into another disappointing one. Yes, the injury to Reggie Jackson has a lot to do with the declining Pistons, but some tough decisions will need to be made soon.
As the trade deadline approaches the Pistons will first have to decide if they are in buy or sell mode. The Pistons currently sit at ninth in the Eastern Conference, just outside of the playoff picture. The Pistons have a lot of bad salaries that will continue to make trades a rather difficult task. Stan Van Gundy loves trades so it will be interesting to see what he does this time.
