Detroit Pistons depth chart after trade for Noel and Burks
Detroit Pistons’ depth chart option #1
Before getting into this, I’ll be running on two assumptions here. The first is that Detroit re-signs Marvin Bagley III, which I think has a high probability of happening but is not a given.
The second is that they are finished making moves, which I do not believe to be the case, so this could be drastically changed by the weekend once free agency opens, as the Pistons might not be done making trades.
Let’s start with option #1, which includes 14 players (another reason I think the Pistons will make more moves):
- Cade Cunningham/Killian Hayes/Saben Lee
- Jaden Ivey/Alec Burks/Cory Joseph
- Saddiq Bey/Hamidou Diallo
- Marvin Bagley III/Kelly Olynyk/Isaiah Livers
- Isaiah Stewart/Nerlens Noel/Jalen Duren
There is a lot to talk about here. This starting five doesn’t have a lot of shooting, and though they are very athletic with Ivey and MBIII, there could be big spacing issues unless Stewart suddenly starts launching and hitting 3-point shots.
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I also think positions are more-or-less irrelevant here, as Livers can play both forward spots, Olynyk, Bagley III and Stewart can all play power forward or center and Burks can play as a two-guard or small forward.
This rotation still lacks a true power forward, but has a lot of versatility and more athleticism and shooting than last season.
My biggest issue with this arrangement is that Cade Cunningham still doesn’t have many shooters around him and will likely face some of the same problems he did last season, which is why it might be better to distribute the shooters in different ways.