The Detroit Pistons made a somewhat surprising move yesterday, trading Kelly Olynyk and Saben Lee for Bojan Bogdanovic of the Utah Jazz.
The move was surprising mostly because of the cost, as it seemed like Utah could have gotten a better package for a very reliable player who could have undoubtedly put one of the contenders over the top.
But he’s headed to Detroit instead, a move that signifies the Pistons aren’t tanking and will at least try to make incremental improvement next season. Whether that happens is yet to be seen, but if it doesn’t Detroit still has a nice trade asset in Bojan Bogdanovic, who they could flip at the deadline for assets.
The trade gives the Pistons a more balanced roster, as they had too many centers and not enough forwards, which this move should help.
Many people believe that Bogdanovic will instantly be inserted into the starting lineup, though that is not for certain and there are plenty of possibilities for coach Dwane Casey. In fact, there are still as many question marks around the starting lineup and depth chart as there was before the trade, maybe more.
Of course, the Pistons could just put Bogdanovic on the bench and run with the starting five that many had pencilled in before the trade:
- Cade Cunningham
- Jaden Ivey
- Saddiq Bey
- Marvin Bagley III
- Isaiah Stewart
We may still see this group to start the season, but the starting lineup and depth chart will be fluid, and coach Casey can try a lot of different combinations to see what works.
For the purposes of this, I am just going to look at the 10-man rotation, but Nerlens Noel and Jalen Duren will also be involved, fighting it out for minutes as a third center and guys like Kevin Knox and Cory Joseph will make their case for minutes as well.
Possible Detroit Pistons’ starting lineup and depth chart #1
Here is the group I would like to see when the season begins:
- Cade Cunningham/Killian Hayes
- Jaden Ivey/Alec Burks
- Saddiq Bey/ Hamidou Diallo
- Bojan Bogdanovic/ Isaiah Livers
- Isaiah Stewart/Marvin Bagley III
This starting five allows the Pistons to spread out their shooting, keeping two shooters around Hayes, MBIII and Hamidou in the second unit. It allows Cade and Ivey to start the season together and start building the chemistry that will hopefully lead to an All-Star backcourt.
It also breaks up the Stewart/Bagley III front court, which has huge question marks, as neither guy can really shoot and neither of them is really a power forward. I would be happy to never see Stewart or MBIII trying to play the four.
The downside to this is that it leaves Cade and Ivey without a real lob threat in the starting five and leaves the Pistons pretty slow at the forward position, as neither Bey nor Bogdanovic are great at defending quicker small forwards.
But Detroit has plenty of other options.
Possible Detroit Pistons’ starting lineup and depth chart #2
Another option would be to split up the two young guards in the starting five and give Cade Cunningham more shooters to work with:
- Cade Cunningham/Killian Hayes
- Alec Burks/ Jaden Ivey
- Saddiq Bey/ Hamidou Diallo
- Bojan Bogdanovic/ Isaiah Livers
- Isaiah Stewart/ Marvin Bagley III
The upside to this configuration is that Cunningham will be surrounded by shooters, which might be the best way to unlock his full potential, as he’d have plenty of space to operate in the mid-range and post without a lane-clogger on the floor.
This might also be the best way to unlock Jaden Ivey early on, as he can be the primary scorer (along with MBIII) in the second unit, taking some of the pressure off Killian, who can focus on being the playmaker.
The downside is that Cade and Ivey don’t start the season together, which probably isn’t a big deal considering they are going to be playing plenty together either way. This also leaves the second unit bereft of shooting, and it’s fair to ask if defenses would just clog the lane to stop Killian, Ivey and MBIII, daring anyone from this group to shoot over the top.
Although I think Burks and Bogdanovic will often be a part of crunch-time lineups, I would rather split them up most of the time to ensure there is always one veteran sharpshooter on the floor at all times.
This particular construction has some flaws, especially when it comes to the bench.
Possible Detroit Pistons’ starting lineup and depth chart #3
If the Pistons wanted to go with their best offense in the starting lineup, it might look something like this:
- Cade Cunningham/Killian Hayes
- Jaden Ivey/Alec Burks
- Saddiq Bey/Hamidou Diallo
- Bojan Bogdanovic/Isaiah Livers
- Marvin Bagley III/ Isaiah Stewart
This would give the Pistons a dynamic offense in the starting five that has guys who can score at every position.
They’d have a great post/p-n-r guy in Bagley III who gives Cade and Ivey a lob threat. They’d have shooters in Bey and Bogdanovic, which should create enough space for Cade, Ivey and MBIII to do their thing.
The downside is that the starting lineup is pretty terrible defensively, as a forecourt of Bagley III and Bogdanovic is not stopping anyone. It also leaves the second unit without much offense, as there are now three players in it that can’t score.
This is probably my least favorite configuration so far, but there is one more to consider.
Possible Detroit Pistons’ starting lineup and depth chart #4
There are so many options for Dwane Casey, including a group that looks like this:
- Cade Cunningham/ Killian Hayes
- Alec Burks/Jaden Ivey
- Saddiq Bey/Hamidou Diallo
- Isaiah Livers/Bojan Bogdanovic
- Isaiah Stewart/Marvin Bagley III
Livers is a better and more versatile defender than Bogdanovic, so having him in the starting five does make some sense.
It would put three shooters around Cade without sacrificing much defensively ,and still leave the second-unit more balanced with scoring.
Livers is really one of the big wild cards here, as he is one of the Pistons’ better team defenders so it will be interesting to see how coach Casey deploys him.
You can come up with plenty of other combinations, and there are really only two locks for the starting five in Cade and Bey. Every other spot is up for grabs and the Detroit Pistons won’t have much time to figure it out, as training camp starts in just a few days.
Detroit is more balanced, but plenty of questions remain.