The Pistons already have the hardest part figured out.
Cade Cunningham is in place, and that changes everything. Detroit doesn’t need to hunt for a franchise centerpiece anymore; it has one. Cunningham has become one of the best point guards in the NBA, and the job now is straightforward: build enough around him to win.
That’s why the obvious move shouldn’t be ignored. If the right deal is there, the Pistons need to be willing to move draft capital.
That kind of move always comes with nerves attached. Picks are valuable, especially in an NBA where the new lottery odds have made tanking far less useful.
Teams in the middle can still strike gold in the draft, and cheap young talent remains the cleanest path to a long-term winner. But there’s another side to that equation, and Detroit is living it right now: draft picks are also the clearest way to improve fast.
That matters because the Pistons are not operating from a blank slate. They were the No. 1 seed in the East last season, but the conference has gotten a lot stronger since then. If Detroit wants to stay in front, standing still is not an option.
The rest of the league is moving with urgency. Kawhi Leonard got traded to the Toronto Raptors, if the deal ever goes through.
Jaylen Brown and LeBron James joined the Philadelphia 76ers. The Cleveland Cavaliers got Peyton Watson, the Miami Heat got Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the New York Knicks are the reigning champions.
Nobody is waiting around.
The message is pretty clear: go for it now.
Detroit should be thinking the same way, especially with Cunningham already playing at that level. He’s a top-15 player in the league, maybe even top 10.
Jalen Duren is an All-Star, but contract issues are part of the picture there. Ausar Thompson is due for a new contract next summer.
And yet the bigger problem is obvious. The Pistons still don’t have enough top-end talent next to Cunningham. Duren and Thompson bring value, but on offense especially, the group needs more.
That’s where the next move has to come from. If Detroit wants to help Cunningham and give itself a real chance to improve over the next couple of seasons, it should not be scared to trade draft picks.
In Other News...
Cade Cunningham Is Already Pushing Pistons Toward Their Next Big Step
The Pistons season ended in Game 7 against Cleveland, but Cade Cunningham is already looking at the next rung of the climb. Rather than letting the disappointment linger, he has taken the lead on an offseason mini-camp in San Diego, giving Detroit players a chance to get together and start building toward training camp before the real grind begins.
For a young team trying to turn a breakthrough into something bigger, that kind of player-led initiative matters. It also comes at a time when the roster picture is not fully settled, with Jalen Durens status for the workout still unclear as he works through contract negotiations with the Pistons, leaving one key piece of the group in question as the next step comes into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Face A Crucial Extension Decision With Ausar And Duren
The Pistons have two major extension calls sitting at the center of their offseason, with Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson both eligible for new deals as Detroit tries to lock in its young core. The club still has room to maneuver under the cap, but the order of operations matters here, and the front office appears to be treating the two negotiations as connected rather than separate.
Thompson has become the first priority in the process, which makes sense given the way Detroit wants to structure the rest of its spending. Once that piece is settled, the focus can shift back to Duren, where the numbers and timing may become more complicated. For now, the Pistons are still navigating the framework of both talks, with no agreement officially in place yet. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Need This Offseason Bet To Finally Ease Cades Burden
The Pistons spent the offseason trying to make life easier for Cade Cunningham by spreading the offensive load around more bodies instead of asking one player to carry too much. Their additions point that way, with Isaiah Joe and John Collins joining the mix and rookie Ebuka Okorie entering the picture, giving Detroit more options to lean on as it tries to climb out of the leagues bottom tier on offense.
John Collins is expected to fit into a starting group that also features Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren, while the second unit is supposed to bring its own scoring punch from several directions. The hope in Detroit is that a bench built around Isaiah Joe, Daniss Jenkins and Okorie can keep the pressure off Cunningham and make the offense less predictable, even if the real answer to how much relief he gets wont be clear until the games start. [Read more 🡒]