Another lottery pick has lost his starting spot.
First it was Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo, who began the season as a starter and has shifted back and forth from the bench to the starting lineup as teammates have become healthy or injured. To Oladipo’s credit, it has not had a serious impact on his performance.
Then it was Sacramento Kings guard Ben McLemore, who began the season as a reserve, was elevated to starter as coach Mike Malone became disenchanted with Marcus Thornton, and has played his way back to the bench.
This week, it was Detroit Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who was moved into the starting lineup when Chauncey Billups got hurt and remained there for some time because coach Maurice Cheeks likes (a) his length and defensive demeanor and (b) bringing Rodney Stuckey off the bench.
But Caldwell-Pope’s stint as starter ended after Monday’s loss to Miami, in which he played eight scoreless minutes while committing three fouls. It was Detroit’s fifth loss in seven games and warranted some sort of change to get things going.
So Caldwell-Pope was benched in favor of second-year man Kyle Singler, who really is a small forward but was slotted in the backcourt alongside Brandon Jennings. Singler made intermittent appearances in our rookie table a season ago and after a slow start to this season has been playing pretty well.
Singler responded with three 3-pointers and 11 points Wednesday at Orlando, maintaining the production he has shown since early December. Caldwell-Pope, meanwhile, came off the bench sleepwalking. He nearly registered a 13 trillion, collecting one rebound and a foul with nothing else. At least he was a plus-7.
The Pistons (19-29) have bigger problems than who starts at shooting guard. Despite spending $86 million on free agents this summer, they have lost 13 of their last 19 games, dropping contests to Utah, Milwaukee and Orlando (twice) along the way. They are 10 years removed from their last championship, and GM Joe Dumars hasn’t done much right since.
But Caldwell-Pope’s demotion is another anecdotal reference to how bad this draft class has been. Among the top 10 picks – players who are supposed to provide an immediate impact – only Oladipo and Trey Burke are scoring in double figures.
Nerlens Noel has yet to play. Alex Len, Otto Porter and C.J. McCollum have gotten late starts due to injuries. Cody Zeller has been ineffectual. And top pick Anthony Bennett is, statistically, the worst player in the NBA.
We hope Caldwell-Pope will take his benching as a signal that he has to work harder to be an impactful NBA player. He has all the physical tools and appears to have the proper disposition to succeed at this level.
He also has the the track record of this draft class weighing upon him.
On to the rankings.