Detroit Pistons: Recent fan poll shows the culture has changed

The Detroit Pistons are entering a new era with a young team that fans are still getting to know.

This is one of the youngest Pistons teams ever assembled, and the veterans they do have are guys who have either played little in Detroit or not at all.

Unlike years past, there is not really a popular veteran player amongst fans and most of the jerseys you see around are guys who have been with the team for one or two seasons or haven’t even yet begun their careers.

Troy Weaver has wiped the slate clean in just two years, transforming the Detroit Pistons from an aging and mediocre team to one of the best young cores in the league.

His work showed in a recent poll where we asked fans about their current favorite player on the team. Fans are putting their hope in the young guys (not that they have much choice), and it was overwhelming in the poll.

Detroit Pistons: Who is the team’s most popular player?

I don’t think it was any surprise that Cade Cunningham was by far the most popular player in our recent poll, garnering nearly three-quarters of the votes:

Cade was recently voted one of the top players to build around by NBA execs, so it’s not surprising that fans too see him as the biggest hope for the Detroit Pistons. I also think Cade’s embrace of Detroit culture has made him a fan favorite, it’s not all just about hope.

Saddiq Bey took 15 percent of the vote, while Isaiah Stewart got 8.7, which was somewhat surprising, as I thought Beef Stew would get more votes. I personally voted for Stewart, as none of these guys have accomplished much yet, but he at least tried to fight the Lakers, which gave him extra credit from me.

What’s fascinating is that these three players got nearly 97 percent of the vote, with a scattering of guys like Killian Hayes, Jaden Ivey and Hamidou Diallo making up the 3.5 percent in the comments.

If we had done this poll 3-4 years ago it would have looked much different, as there would have been veteran players like Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson, but now Saddiq Bey was the oldest guy who got significant votes.

Things have changed a lot over the last few seasons, as fans of the Pistons are now putting all of their hope (and jersey money) into young players who are entering their second or third seasons in the league.

The roster has changed dramatically and the young guys are now by far the most popular players.