The Detroit Pistons may have just finished as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, but that alone does not mean the roster is finished. If anything, the message for Cade Cunningham is pretty clear: the Pistons need to be willing to keep swinging, the way the Minnesota Timberwolves have done around Anthony Edwards.
That’s been the Wolves’ pattern for years. They have not treated the roster like something to protect at all costs. Instead, they’ve kept reshaping it in search of the best possible path to a championship for Edwards, and that willingness to change has already produced multiple Western Conference Finals births.
Detroit, by contrast, did not make a ton of massive moves this summer. The Pistons did make some smaller additions that could pay off, but they didn’t do anything crazy. If they want to build a title team with Cunningham at the center, the source of the blueprint is pretty obvious.
When Edwards first arrived in Minnesota, the Timberwolves were built around him and Karl-Anthony Towns. That was the pairing, and that was the starting point. But the front office did not stay locked into it for long.
Within Edwards’ first two seasons, Minnesota made a major trade with the Utah Jazz, sending out a pile of players and even more picks for Rudy Gobert. Then, after deciding the team still wasn’t good enough, the Wolves moved Towns, who had been their franchise centerpiece for nearly a decade, to the New York Knicks. Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo came back in that deal, and the Wolves still made the WCF.
Even after that, the reshuffling didn’t stop. Following a second-round exit this past year, Minnesota pulled off another huge trade, sending Naz Reid in a package to get LaMelo Ball from the Charlotte Hornets.
That’s the kind of aggression Detroit needs to embrace. Cunningham is too good to be surrounded by hesitation.
If Jalen Duren doesn’t work as the No. 2 option, the Pistons should be ready to rethink it. If the roster needs more help, they should be willing to consolidate pieces and attach picks.
The point is simple: go for it. The Pistons need the same fearlessness the Timberwolves have shown with Edwards, because that is how you keep building around a star like Cunningham.
In Other News...
Pistons Fixed Their Shooting But One Offensive Problem Still Lingers
The Pistons made a clear point of attack this offseason by adding four players who shoot better than 40 percent from deep and bringing back Kevin Huerter, a move aimed at lifting an offense that ranked 17th in the league from 3-point range last season. For a team trying to keep pace in a tighter Eastern Conference, the logic is obvious: more reliable shooting should help open the floor, create cleaner driving lanes and make Detroit a harder team to load up against.
Still, the shot-making itself was only part of the issue. Detroit was among the leagues lowest-volume 3-point teams a year ago, and the real test is whether the new additions can help push the offense into a more modern, more punishing shape. If the Pistons are going to get the spacing they want, they need more attempts, not just better percentages, and that remains the lingering question hanging over the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Need Answers Around Cade Before A Bigger Trade Makes Sense
Detroit spent the offseason kicking around several trade possibilities, but the front office ultimately chose to add role players and see what this group looks like once the games start to matter. That leaves a lot of evaluation still to come, especially with the roster built around young pieces and veterans who have to prove where they fit in the bigger picture.
Ron Holland II is one of the more interesting tests because his shooting and role could push him toward being a long-term piece or a more attractive trade chip later on. The same goes for the broader mix in the frontcourt and on the perimeter, where the fit between John Collins and Jalen Duren, along with whether Kevin Huerter, Jaden Jenkins or Ebuka Okorie can help with creation and ball handling, may end up telling Detroit whether a bigger move is necessary before the next deadline. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Duren Contract Standoff Is Becoming A Pistons Camp Distraction
Jalen Durens contract situation is hanging over the Pistons as the calendar turns toward camp, with the big man facing a looming decision on the qualifying offer that would set up his path to unrestricted free agency after next season. Detroit is already lined up for Media Day on September 28, which means the teams opening stretch of public appearances could easily become less about on-court goals and more about one of its most important young players.
If the situation is still unresolved by then, Durens absence would be impossible to ignore and could become the dominant topic around the locker room, even before training camp begins. The expectation is that it gets sorted out before the real work starts, but until there is a resolution, it remains the kind of distraction a young team would rather not carry into September. [Read more 🡒]