The biggest offseason acquisition for the Pistons was Stan Van Gundy, who was installed as the team’s head coach and president of basketball operations in order to give the team an experienced hand to guide it back to a respectable level of postseason contention.
On the court, the additions to the team this summer were far less exciting.
The most impactful of those, however, was supposed to be the addition of Jodie Meeks, who shot a career-best 40.1 percent from three-point distance as a member of the Lakers last season. Detroit appeared to be overpaying wildly for someone with his skill set, but if Meeks could come close to replicating his recent statistics, at least one of the team’s needs would have been addressed.
Detroit will now have to wait a while to see how Meeks fits, thanks to a back injury that is expected to sideline him for at least a couple of months.
From Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News:Jodie Meeks has a stress reaction in his back, lower. Will be out a couple months
You’ll see more Josh Smith at the 3
More Singler, Martin, Butler at the two. Think you’ll see a bigger lineup all around
The team’s official release said the injury was discovered Monday, after Meeks was initially diagnosed with back spasms back on Oct. 9.
There are no shortage of options for Van Gundy to turn to, but Josh Smith at the three has to be among the least appealing. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope should get a strong look while Meeks is out, provided he doesn’t miss too much time with a recent injury of his own.
