The Phoenix Suns are headed to the Western Conference Finals, which should give fans of the Detroit Pistons some hope.
In 2018-19 the Suns weren’t much different from this year’s Pistons. They won just 19 games and were dead last in the West, much like the 20-win Pistons this season.
Last year wasn’t a whole lot better for the Suns, though they did finish 34-39 after an unlikely undefeated run in the Orlando bubble.
This season the Suns won 51 games and are now one series away from the Finals, so how can the Detroit Pistons do the same?
Detroit Pistons: Find a star and be patient as he develops
If you want to find some “bad NBA takes” go back to 2019 and search for Devin Booker on Twitter.
At this point the young star was practically being written off for his lack of success, reduced to a soft scorer who couldn’t defend and would never be the best player on a contender.
How did those takes turn out?
The Suns resisted the urge to make drastic changes or to trade Booker prematurely, as they saw a potential superstar and had patience to let him develop into one.
The Detroit Pistons don’t have their superstar just yet, but they are hoping to find him in this year’s NBA Draft and already have a very good group of young players waiting in Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart and Killian Hayes.
Who knows, perhaps Hayes is that star, but either way, the Pistons need to find their guy and then stick with him as he gets better, just as the Suns did with Booker.
Ironically, the Pistons could have had Booker themselves, but that is a whole other article.