The Detroit Pistons are pretty deep on the wings this season with Stanley Johnson and Reggie Bullock backing up starters Marcus Morris and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Because of this, rookie Darrun Hilliard has yet to see any game action this year after impressing in training camp and earning a roster spot. Because of the lack of playing time and the way the schedule is set up Hilliard might be sent down to the D-League soon, according to Marlowe Alter of the Detroit Free Press.
The Pistons selected Hilliard with the 38th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft out of Villanova where he had a very nice career. Hilliard is known for his three point shooting ability as he shot close to 40 percent in his final two years of college but he is currently just the victim of a very deep wing rotation for the Pistons.
The Pistons are set to play 17 games in a 29 day stretch which means that there won't be much practice time in which Hilliard could stay on top of his game so Stan Van Gundy is considering sending him down to the Grand Rapids Drive.
"It's possible after Thanksgiving. There's a stretch where if everybody were healthy over here, he could possibly be sent to Grand Rapids. We haven't decided, but possibly get some time in and get like five games in 10 days. Those are the stretches we are looking for," said Van Gundy.
The Drive play five games in a span of nine days right after Thanksgiving so that combined with the fact that the Pistons won't be practicing much makes it seem like a smart idea to give Hilliard some run. While it is hard to fault Van Gundy for not getting Hilliard into a game, the last thing the Pistons want to do is stunt the 22 year olds development by having him bolted to the bench. It is not uncommon for young players to spend some time in the D-League when they are not in their team's rotation so this would be a good move for all parties involved as Hilliard would be able to log some minutes of game action.
