It’s been a long time since the Detroit Pistons were good, so fans probably don’t want to hear that they need to be patient.
With a potential superstar in Cade Cunningham, fans of the Pistons are eager to see this team win, as we’ve been waiting and “rebuilding” for so long that many in the fanbase were not even alive the last time the Pistons had a meaningful playoff run.
But it takes time to develop talent and the Pistons are a very young team that is still a few stages away from being a legit contender for the playoffs and even further away from competing for a title.
But what is a realistic timeline for that to happen? It’s not going to be overnight, but the Detroit Pistons could get there sooner than you think.
Here’s how it could go down if things work out.
The Detroit Pistons will be a lottery team again in 2021-22
Detroit is not running their version of “The Process” but when you had as little talent on the roster as they did, it will take several drafts to make it right.
Troy Weaver traded Sekou Doumbouya, the final holdout from the last regime, so he now has a clean slate of only his own guys.
But with so many young players, the Detroit Pistons are probably going to be bad next season. I think they’ll win more than 20 games, but will still end up with another top-10 pick in the NBA Draft.
After next season they will have as much young talent as they need and will be in a position to make a move.
The 2022-23 season is where things start to change
The Detroit Pistons will have a ton of cap space opening up after next season and will be in a position to add an impact free agent to one of the best young cores in the league.
There are some free agents to monitor this season who would look great in Detroit, but it’s no given that they will land any of them or even be an option.
But with all of that cap space and young talent, the Pistons could also make a trade to get a mid-20’s star from a team looking to kick off their own rebuild.
If the Pistons can make a big addition, they should be able to compete for a play-in spot in the 2022-23 season and hopefully make some noise.
The Detroit Pistons should be in the playoffs by the 2023-24 season
With another offseason addition and more moves around the young core of Cunningham, Isaiah Stewart, Saddiq Bey, Killian Hayes, next year’s draft pick and hopefully a star free agent, the Detroit Pistons will be ready to compete for a playoff spot for real in the 2023-24 season.
This will be a big season for the Pistons, as many of their players will be entering the final year of their rookie deals and this is the first season that Cade Cunningham will be extension eligible.
By this season, their young players won’t be so young and will hopefully be on the verge of breaking through for a run in the playoffs. Some of the older players will have shuffled out of the league by then and the next generation will be ready to take over.
By 2024-25, the Detroit Pistons should be a contender
Some of you probably think this timeline is conservative or pessimistic, but the truth is that teams led by young guys are rarely title contenders.
Ask LeBron James, who didn’t win a title until his 7th year in the league even though he was historically good through the first six. I think if the Detroit Pistons are a playoff team that has a chance to win the East by 2024-25 then this restoration will have been a huge success.
This is actually the best possible scenario for the Pistons, as they will still have players on value contracts and should have the money to fill out their roster with quality veteran depth.
The Detroit Pistons may never win a title in this timeline, but fans really just want consistent and sustained success like we had in the 2000’s when Detroit was in the Eastern Conference Finals nearly every year.
Championships are obviously the goal, but when you have been bad this long, being good consistently is really all you can hope for.
This is a new era of Deeeetroit Basketball but sustained success is not going to come overnight and fans will still have to be patient.