The Detroit Pistons don’t need one magic answer to fix the offense around Cade Cunningham. They may already have a path to doing it the hard way - and maybe the better way - by spreading the responsibility across the whole roster.
That matters because next season is about more than just matching what Detroit did last year. The Pistons want to live up to that standard, and in a perfect world, push beyond it.
To get there, they have to be better on offense, especially when Cunningham isn’t carrying everything himself. The good news is they didn’t need a flurry of headline-grabbing moves to create that possibility.
Instead of banking on one player to solve the issue, Detroit can lean on a bench built to produce. The idea is simple: if the reserves can score, create, and keep the pressure on, the offense doesn’t have to stall whenever Cunningham sits or gets bottled up.
That was a real problem last season. Cunningham was one of the best players in the NBA, but in the playoffs he was often left to handle too much on his own.
When he didn’t have it going offensively, the burden shifted to Tobias Harris and Caris LeVert. That wasn’t enough, and it’s not the kind of setup that holds up when the games get tighter.
This year, both of those players are gone. In their place, the Pistons are looking at a different kind of solution - one built on volume and variety.
Isaiah Joe came over in a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder. John Collins arrived in a trade with the LA Clippers.
Daniss Jenkins is still in the mix. Ebuka Okorie was added in the draft.
The likely starting group would feature Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Collins, and Jalen Duren. That leaves Detroit with a bench that should have multiple ways to score and multiple players who can chip in offensively without everything flowing through one person.
Joe, Jenkins, Okorie, and the rest of that second unit give the Pistons a chance to generate points in waves. It could look a lot like the early-2020s Clippers, where the offense came from a collective push rather than one dominant creator.
If that works, Detroit doesn’t just patch a weakness from last season. It gives itself a more flexible offensive identity, one that can help Cunningham and raise the whole team at the same time.
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 Pressure Point That Could Define Their Next Step
The Pistons have reached a familiar kind of crossroads, the sort that shows up when a young roster starts to look promising but still feels short of the firepower needed to matter in the East. Cade Cunningham has become the center of the conversation, with Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson giving Detroit pieces to believe in, yet the bigger picture still leans toward a team trying to find enough offense to make the next step feel real.
With the conference tightening around them, the question is no longer just about patience or internal growth. Detroit may have to decide whether to keep protecting draft capital or use it to bring in more immediate help around Cunningham, because the current mix still leaves too much pressure on him to carry the scoring load. [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 🡒]