https://youtu.be/RKIxUfElQhA
It seems like forever ago that Delon Wright formed part of the Raptors’ feared “bench mob” with…who were the other players who comprised that mob, again? It was, like, Fred VanVleet, and Norman Powell, and maybe Andrea Bargnani or something. Yeah. I bet Andrea Bargnani was involved. That would be preferable to having somebody like Greivis Vasquez involved, that’s for sure.
Anyway, it doesn’t matter who else was part of that high-caliber bench unit for the Raptors in 2017. All that matters is that Delon Wright was part of it, and that was probably the high point of his career in terms of playing meaningful basketball and getting some measure of national attention. Then, he got shipped away in the Marc Gasol trade, and he’s been an anonymous backup PG ever since, playing solidly wherever he goes, but not wowing anybody with his production. I look at his stats and am distinctly unwowed.
Is this the beginning of something special for Wright? Is he finally going to start getting more attention as he puts up gaudy statlines for a Pistons team that weirdly went all-in on veteran players to help lead them to 28 wins? The answer to both of those questions is “probably not”. A quick glance at his gamelog this season reveals some decent outings, and also a whole lot of very very not-decent outings (3 points in 32 minutes on 1-of-10 shooting? barf), so anybody expecting consistent production from Wright should just give up on that notion immediately. And any national writers looking for the next under-the-radar player to generate a grassroots hype campaign for would be better served looking anywhere other than Detroit. Writing an article called “Delon Wright is Bringing the Bad Boy Era Back to Detroit [subtitle: Wright Brings a New-School Playstyle and an Old-School Mentality that is Endearing him to Longtime Pistons Diehards who Ask: “Could This Kid Bring Championships Back to Motor City?”]” might seem like a good idea, but trust me, it’s not. Don’t write it.