J.B. Bickerstaff is staring at the same problem again, and it’s not a small one: how to keep Cade Cunningham from carrying too much of the load.
The Pistons are tracking toward the 2026-27 season with a familiar issue - too little shot creation behind their franchise centerpiece. Cunningham is already one of the best players in the NBA, but Detroit’s path forward still runs through making the game easier for him, not harder. The catch is obvious: the roster has limited answers.
The best-case setup would be Jalen Duren re-signing and giving Cunningham another season alongside him. That would leave Detroit with two All-NBA players who can create offense in a system built around their high-low balance. Even then, though, the perimeter remains thin on playmakers and self-starters, which is exactly what has put Cunningham in such a tough spot.
In 2025-26, Cunningham and Duren were the only Pistons averaging more than 13.3 points per game. Cunningham was also the only one over 3.9 assists per contest. And when it came to driving the ball, only Cunningham and Daniss Jenkins got to at least 6.0 drives per game, with Jenkins converting just 38.5 percent of those chances.
Detroit has added more shooting on paper and may have improved at forward, but that won’t fix everything by itself. Bickerstaff may have to change how the Pistons play to get Cunningham better support.
One obvious lever is volume from deep. The Pistons ranked No. 29 in the NBA in three-point field goals attempted in 2025-26, a low number that made sense given the lack of trustworthy shooters. That part looks different now with John Collins, Isaiah Joe, and Taurean Prince entering the mix after each shot at least 40.6 percent from three last season.
Another avenue is Paul Reed. He played only 13.9 minutes per game in 2025-26, but after Isaiah Stewart was traded, there’s a hole at backup center. Reed fits that role as a high-volume scorer who averaged 20.1 points per 36 minutes last season.
Collins brings another scoring layer too. He has posted as many as 21.6 points per game, and as recently as 2024-25 he finished at 19.0 points per game while shooting .527/.399/.848.
There’s also the possibility that Jenkins grows into more of a scoring threat, while Ebuka Okorie builds on a solid rookie season. Until that happens, though, Detroit has to work around the limits of the current roster.
That could mean Cunningham leans more into playmaking. Or it could mean the Pistons take the opposite route and ask him to score more while trusting the shooters around him when the ball comes out.
However Bickerstaff handles it, the job is clear: he has to get inventive until the internal growth actually shows up.
In Other News...
JB Bickerstaff Now Has A Pistons Problem Fans Will Welcome
JB Bickerstaffs first offseason in Detroit brought the kind of roster makeover that usually signals a team trying to solve a very specific problem. After finishing with the leagues second-best defense last season, the Pistons knew the bigger issue was on the other end, where the offense bogged down in the playoffs and left too much pressure on Cade Cunningham to create. The front office answered by adding more shooting and spacing, giving Bickerstaff a more modern-looking group to work with and, at least on paper, a better chance to keep the floor open.
The catch is that every move to help the offense can tug at the defense, and Bickerstaff now has to manage that tradeoff without losing the identity that got Detroit this far. The roster also looks different on the defensive side after the departures of Isaiah Stewart and Tobias Harris, which makes the balancing act even trickier. For a coach who built his reputation on structure and toughness, the challenge is finding the right blend before the season starts to sort out whether this new mix can hold up on both ends. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Duren May Be Weighing A Risky Bet On His Future
The offseason chatter around Jalen Duren has started to feel bigger than a typical extension conversation, especially after Sacramento reportedly explored a sign-and-trade and Detroit showed no interest in dealing him. Duren also recently met with Pistons GM Scott Perry, and the message from that discussion appears to be that the organization still sees a future with him, even if that future may not require a long-term deal right away.
For Duren, the path to true leverage may be the riskier one. Accepting a qualifying offer would put him on track for free agency next summer, a move that could set up a bigger payday if his market develops the way he hopes. But it also leaves him exposed, with the possibility that a team like the Kings could still try to make a run at him while Detroit weighs whether to keep building around a young center whose next decision could shape both his market and the Pistons' frontcourt plans. [Read more 🡒]
Pistons Still Have A Chance To Make Another Meaningful Move
After a busy offseason that brought five roster additions, the Pistons have already reshaped the edges of the roster with trades for Isaiah Joe, Taurean Prince and Gary Harris, plus free agent signings of John Collins and Elijah Harkless. Cade Cunningham remains the clubs top salary, and the front office has made clear it is willing to keep building around the core rather than standing still after last seasons push.
Jalen Durens extension talks add another layer to the picture, because Detroit is still balancing present-day improvement with long-term planning. The larger point is hard to miss: even after the recent flurry of moves, the Pistons still have room to keep working, and with their stockpile of future draft capital, they remain set up to chase another meaningful upgrade if the right opportunity comes along. [Read more 🡒]