Detroit Pistons trust Isaiah Stewart's shooting will come. But his value goes beyond it

Isaiah Stewart has put in significant work to become the floor-spacing power forward the Detroit Pistons desperately need.

The fruits of his labor didn’t show during preseason.

The fourth-year big man, who signed a four-year, $64 million contract extension this offseason, hit just four of his 21 attempts — 19% — through four games. He went 1-for-11 during Detroit’s final two games, missing 10 straight before finally getting one to fall in the third quarter against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.

Monty Williams isn’t concerned.

“I think when guys put the work in, you trust the work,” Detroit’s head coach said after Monday's practice. “I’ve always been in the mindset of having a ‘let it fly’ gym, so that’s the one thing for me, when guys defend and they compete and they work on their game, I’m good.”

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With Stewart and Jalen Duren seemingly locked in as starters ahead of their season opener against the Miami Heat on Wednesday, the onus has been on Stewart to stretch the floor. He attempted 205 3-pointers in just 50 games last season, a dramatic increase from the 109 he took during his first two seasons combined.

We’ve seen him knock down outside shots at a high clip, as he hit 38.1% of his 3s through his first 29 games last year. But he slumped down the stretch, finishing the season at 32.7% from 3 — a tenth of a percentage point below his career average.

But his value to the team goes beyond shooting. Stewart is the best defensive big on the roster, capable of holding down the paint and switching onto smaller players on the perimeter. He’s a cog in Williams’ defensive approach, which often saw the team switch 1-through-4 with the center playing in drop coverage during preseason.

Coupled with Stewart’s other burgeoning skills — he was efficient in the paint and has flashed more playmaking and foul-drawing instincts — Williams is looking at the big picture rather than focusing solely on his shooting.

“I have told him, ‘You’re more than that,'” Williams said. “So don’t get caught up in missing shots. His physicality in the paint, he’s punishing teams in preseason. We can find other ways to impact the game even when his shot’s not going. So then when your shot is going, you have all these other things you do well to compliment your shot.”

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Two plays during preseason highlighted how Isaiah Stewart’s growth as a power forward goes beyond his outside jumper.

Toward the end of the first half against the Oklahoma City Thunder last Thursday, Stewart caught the ball on the left wing and immediately drove right, catching Jalen Williams off-balance. Duren lurked in the paint and moved to the dunkers spot as Stewart approached. It led to an easy dunk, as Stewart dumped the ball off to Duren right as Isaiah Joe rotated to meet Stewart at the rim.

A similar sequence played out a day later in Dallas. Stewart received a dribble-handoff from Marvin Bagley at the top of the key, drove down the middle and whipped the ball to Ausar Thompson, who finished an under-the-rim layup over Grant Williams.

Stewart took six free throws against the Mavericks, barreling into defenders with his big frame.

“He’s 260 (pounds) and able to make plays like that, that’s going to be huge for us,” Williams said. And coach (Brian) Randle has been helping him to grow that part of his game. Forget what game it was, but he had a 0.5 attack and hit Jalen for a dunk, I think it was OKC. But those kinds of plays, not many guys can do that.”

Outside shooting will still be a key part of Stewart’s growth this season. Williams wishes to prioritize having enough spacing on the floor, and the Pistons’ starting unit could suffer if Stewart can’t hit them consistently.

Whether he hits shots or not this season, Williams will devise ways to get Stewart onto the floor. He called Stewart the “engine” and “voice” of the team early in training camp. He is irreplaceable on defense. But if the shot does fall, it’ll open up more possibilities for the Pistons.

“We feel like there’s more to his game than just the shot,” Williams said. “But when he is making the shot, he’s going to be that much better because of the other stuff he does.”

Pistons ink Stanley Umude to two-way contract

The Pistons converted Stanley Umude’s Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal on Monday, the team announced. The 6-foot-6 wing, who played for the Motor City Cruise last season after going undrafted in 2022, was able to capitalize on a strong preseason performance and will spend more time with the parent club this season.

Umude signed a 10-day contract with the Pistons toward the end of last season and appeared in one game.

“Troy (Weaver) let me know to come back on an (Exhibit) 10 and compete for the two-way,” Umude said after practice Monday. “I did camp with the Pistons last year, too. Had a good idea. We have new staff in here, but I was going hard trying to secure that spot for sure.

“It was a little bit of pressure, but I didn’t really feel it. I was just going out there doing what I’ve been doing my whole life. To me, it’s just coming out, trying to help the team win in any way I can. And hopefully they were able to see my value, and they did, so it’s good.”

In four preseason games, Umude shot 10-for-22 (45.5%) overall, 7-for-16 from 3 (43.8%) and 10-for-10 at the free throw line. The South Dakota and Arkansas alumnus averaged 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists with the Cruise last season.

The Pistons previously waived Buddy Boeheim, Tosan Evbuomwan, Jontay Porter and Michigan alumnus Zavier Simpson, who were all on Exhibit 10 contracts, on Saturday. All four players are eligible to sign with the Cruise. They also signed Treveon Graham, David Nwaba, Nate Roberts and Ryan Turell to Exhibit 10 contracts, and all four could join the Cruise before they open training camp.

Umude claimed the team’s third and final two-way spot alongside Jared Rhoden and Matthew Cazalon.

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.

For openers: Heat

Matchup: Pistons (17-65 in 2022-23) at Miami (44-38 in 2022-23), regular-season opener.

Tipoff: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; Kaseya Center, Miami.

TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit; WXYT-FM (97.1).

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons trust that Isaiah Stewart's work as shooter will show