Detroit Pistons season preview with The Athletic’s James Edwards III

Cade, Killian and Saddiq all missed time in the preseason, do you have any insight on when their return to the lineup might be?

Edwards III: Sounds like Killian should be good to go for the season opener. Dwane said he practiced on Sunday. Saddiq went through partial practice on Sunday so I’d imagine he’s probably, I don’t know for sure, but it sounds like he’s on course to go for the opener.

Cade is the wildcard. Dwane says he’s on track. He didn’t practice on Sunday, and I know Dwane previously said he’d like to get Cade a handful of practices in before he returned. This is just me guessing, I would be surprised if Cade plays in the season opener, but Dwane said they’d track his progress as these next few days play out.

Fans haven’t seen much of Cade since he played in Summer League. What kind of player should fans expect to be getting when he does return to the lineup?

Edwards III: I think it’s going to be similar to what you saw in Summer League. A guy who is going to initiate some offense. A guy who is going to play off-ball next to Killian. I think his jump shot is going to be his greatest strength as he starts. He shot 50 percent in Summer League, in very few games but he shot 50 percent. His shooting is going to be what he is able to fall back on as he gets adjusted to NBA speed, length, athleticism. They should expect defensive effort too, there’s some real defensive potential there.