Detroit Pistons: How the Pistons can be next year’s Atlanta Hawks
Last season, the Atlanta Hawks won 20 games and were one of the worst teams in the NBA. This season, they won 41 games and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, a leap the Detroit Pistons would love to make as a franchise.
Detroit won just 20 games this season but did it competitively behind rookies Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart and a huge breakout season from Jerami Grant.
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Their masterclass in tanking was rewarded with the number one overall pick, which the Pistons will likely use to select Cade Cunningham, who many feel will be the next superstar of the NBA.
So will Cunningham’s addition be enough to propel the Detroit Pistons to another level? Can they be the Atlanta Hawks? I think the Pistons will absolutely make a leap, but it might be too soon to pencil them into playoff contention just yet.
Detroit Pistons: First step to becoming Atlanta is to get an elite scorer
The Atlanta Hawks were able to ride point guard Trae Young to the Eastern Conference Finals as he has evolved into one of the top scoring guards in the NBA.
If the Pistons want to make a similar leap, they need an elite scorer of their own, and they hope to get one in Cade Cunningham, who has the skillset to be that guy.
Like Trae Young, Cunningham can either get his own shot or set up teammates, which is something the Pistons lacked this season, as Jerami Grant isn’t really a number one scoring option and would be better as the second guy.
Even though I think Cunningham is going to be a star, it would be stretch to say he’ll be as good as Young in his first season, so when it comes to having an elite scorer, the Pistons might still be a year or two away, even after drafting Cunningham.