Last season was another wasted year for Detroit. Cade Cunningham played just 12 games early on the season and the Pistons won just 3 of their first 18 games. They were completely out of playoff contention as early as in November and they were the only team in the league who couldn’t even get to the 20 wins mark by the end of the regular season. The Pistons were awful on both ends of the floor.
With Cunningham out, Jalen Ivey was forced to assume a bigger role as the team’s main guard and this was too soon for him to get such an important role as he struggled as a playmaker, even though the experience that he gained on this role might end up being good for the franchise on a long term scenario.
2023/24 OUTLOOK:
Detroit hired Monty Williams as their new head coach. He agreed to a six-year, $78.5 million contract with the team, giving him the largest coaching deal in the NBA. The Pistons weren’t lucky enough in the draft lottery, so they did not land Wembanyama in the draft. They only got the #5 draft pick and selected Ausar Thompson with it. Detroit lacked athleticism and perimeter defense, so Ausar could be a solid addition for the future of the franchise.
Cade Cunningham will need to have an all-star caliber season for the Pistons to have any hope at being competitive this year. They still lack playmaking, so Cade will have to cover a lot of ground and turn himself into a peak James Harden kind of player on offense.
The Pistons have a lot of frontcourt solutions on their roster, but some of their players were failed projects in other franchises such as Marvin Bagley and James Wiseman. If Detroit can find any value in these two players that would be a surprise to me. Jalen Duren is their most promising frontcourt player (especially at just 19 years old), as when he got more playing time last season he showed some nice upside that the Pistons badly need.
Detroit finally signed veterans Monte Morris and Joe Harris to fill the roster and make their bench a decent unit. However, coach Williams will have to eventually choose between playing a veteran player who is ready to contribute or playing a young player in order to develop him.
