The Pistons’ quiet offseason has put the spotlight on Trajan Langdon, but Cade Cunningham isn’t completely off the hook.
Detroit came off an impressive season in the Motor City, locked up the top seed in the Eastern Conference, and finally got past the first-round curse in the playoffs. Even with that progress, the team’s playoff run still ended in disappointment, and it made one thing plain: Cunningham needs more help if this group is going to get over the hump and chase a championship.
So yes, the front office is the obvious place to start. Langdon and the Pistons have done the heavy lifting on roster building, especially when it comes to trades and free agency. But the blame for the underwhelming summer can’t sit only with the front office.
Detroit’s only free-agent addition so far is John Collins. He’s a useful player, but not the kind of move that changes the ceiling of the roster.
That’s where Cunningham comes in. He deserves some of the criticism simply because he hasn’t been part of the recruiting effort.
Free agency may not carry the same punch it once did, but there are still names out there who could matter. LeBron James, Jonathan Kuminga, and DeMar DeRozan are all still on the board as potential targets who would help the Pistons right away. So far, the only real connection mentioned between Detroit and that group is DeRozan, and even that was framed as just a possibility of kicking the tires.
Nobody is asking Cunningham to do the front office’s job. But around the league, stars are increasingly helping sell their teams to other stars, and that’s the part Detroit has not shown yet from its own franchise player.
Tyrese Haliburton said LeBron James laughed in his face at the idea of joining the Indiana Pacers, but at least he made the pitch. Draymond Green and Stephen Curry both addressed the possibility of James going to the Golden State Warriors.
New Heat member Giannis Antetokounmpo has joined the recruitment chain of James. Anthony Edwards also made his case for James to join the Minnesota Timberwolves during Fanatics Fest.
Cunningham may have done work behind the scenes. There’s no way to know that for sure. But with Detroit’s offseason looking as thin as it does, it doesn’t feel like that has been a major part of the story.
James is the biggest name in the conversation, and that’s why he keeps coming up as the example. Still, there are other available players who could have been part of a push, and Cunningham’s voice could have helped if the Pistons wanted to make one.
There’s a line between helping and overstepping, but Cunningham is the kind of star whose recruitment could make a real difference.
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That balance matters because the offense has often bogged down in the half court, where one reliable shooter was not enough to keep defenses honest. Now the Pistons can point to multiple players who hit better than 40 percent from three last season, a notable shift for a team that has spent years trying to add shooting without turning soft on the other end. The question is whether the new mix can finally make the offense functional while preserving the edge that has defined this group. [Read more 🡒]
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For now, Huerters role appears limited, which is why the signing can feel easy to overlook in the moment. Still, JB Bickerstaff has shown he is willing to use deep rotations, and Huerters ability to cover multiple spots gives the Pistons some needed insurance if the lineup gets hit by injuries or the back end of the roster starts to shift. [Read more 🡒]