The Pistons don’t need a total overhaul to avoid the problems that bit them last season. They just needed a bench that could survive when Cade Cunningham sat, and Detroit made enough small but meaningful changes to get there.
That was the issue in the playoffs, where the drop-off without Cunningham was hard to miss. Last season, Detroit’s net rating dipped by nearly three points when he wasn’t on the floor, and the offense fell by more than eight points. That’s what happens when the engine leaves the game and there aren’t enough other ways to keep the machine running.
The good news for Detroit is that its second unit should be better built for those stretches now. The Pistons’ bench was productive in the regular season - fourth in the league in points per game and sixth in net rating - but a lot of that success came from hustle, defense, effort and transition chances. Those things matter, but they get harder to lean on once the postseason slows everything down and the game turns into more half-court basketball.
Last season’s bench group was mostly Isaiah Stewart, Ron Holland II, Daniss Jenkins, Caris LeVert, Javonte Green and some Kevin Huerter late in the year. Stewart is now in Memphis and LeVert is now in Milwaukee, and even with the rest of the group mostly intact, the Pistons have clearly added more balance.
Jenkins, Holland, Green and Reed are back, but their jobs should look different. Jenkins is set for a steadier role as the backup point guard.
Holland is expected to bring more to the offense. Reed should handle the full-time backup job behind Jalen Duren, pending.
That Reed move matters. He steps into Stewart’s role, but he brings a different feel around the basket - more creativity, more passing, more versatility on offense.
Detroit also added Isaiah Joe, giving Jenkins another player he can actually set up. That wasn’t really the case last year when Jenkins had to spend a lot of time next to LeVert, who neither stretched the floor nor created much spacing.
There’s more help around the edges too. Kevin Huerter returns as insurance and is trying to rebuild his shot, and if he bounces back, that could become a real swing factor for this group.
Taurean Prince gives the Pistons a legitimate backup power forward who can hit from the corner. Rookie Ebuka Okorie takes over the Marcus Sasser spot, and while he isn’t expected to play a major role right away, he does add another weapon.
Put it all together and Detroit’s second unit looks a lot cleaner. A bench built around Jenkins, Joe, Holland, Green or Prince and Reed is far more balanced than the all-defense group the Pistons leaned on for much of last season.
That should help when Cunningham goes to the bench, and it should matter even more in the playoffs, where shot-making and spacing become the difference between surviving a few minutes and getting swallowed whole.
In Other News...
Pistons Built A Better Regular Season Team But One Doubt Remains
Two years into Trajan Langdons run atop basketball operations, the Pistons have gone from a 14-win team to one that can talk seriously about stacking up with the Easts better clubs. The playoff loss that ended last season made the next step pretty clear: Detroit needed more offense to go with the defense and size that already gave it a real identity, so this offseason brought a push for shooting and depth around Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson.
John Collins and Isaiah Joe were among the additions meant to loosen the floor and make the half-court attack less cramped, and the front office clearly spent with the postseason in mind. Even so, the bigger question hanging over the roster is familiar for a young team on the rise: can the Pistons keep their defensive backbone while building enough reliable shot-making to survive when the games get tighter and the possessions get slower? [Read more 🡒]
Raptors Trade Dream Hinges On Solving One Roster Problem
The Raptors latest trade dream is built around a familiar kind of star-chasing gamble, but the bigger hurdle may be what they do in the middle. If Toronto were to land Kawhi Leonard from the Clippers in a package centered on Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and multiple first-round picks, the front office would still have to address its lingering concern at center, where Jakob Poeltls reliability remains an issue.
Thats where Detroit enters the conversation, with Jalen Duren viewed as a possible answer if the Raptors can find a way to pry him loose. The problem for the Pistons is that the contract standoff around Duren is still unresolved, and the gap between the two sides appears wide enough to keep the situation volatile as the offseason unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Cant Afford To Cave In This Jalen Duren Standoff
The Jalen Duren situation has settled into that uneasy offseason pause where everyone is watching for the first move, but nobody in Detroit seems eager to blink. There has been speculation about a possible sign-and-trade if the young center accepts the qualifying offer, though the Pistons have made clear they are not looking to go down that road unless they absolutely have to. From their side, the concern is obvious: they cannot afford to lose a promising big man and come away with nothing.
If the front office ever does get pushed into considering a deal, the price tag would have to be steep enough to make the risk worthwhile. Detroit would want real value back, not just a placeholder move, and the broader outline around any talks has included impact talent, draft capital and help in the frontcourt. For now, though, the standoff remains exactly that, with both sides waiting to see who moves first. [Read more 🡒]