When Troy Weaver took over as the GM of the Detroit Pistons, he talked about a restoration rather than a rebuild.
He wants to bring Detroit back to their former glory and has spent the last two years completely transforming the roster.
The Pistons got rid of all of their dead weight and bad contracts, and now have one of the youngest teams in the NBA, but the tear down is the easy part. Now comes the part where he has to build it back up, so where does the restoration stand as we head into the 2022-23 season?
Are the Detroit Pistons getting closer to sustained success? Think about this as a state of the union address, and we’ll look at three areas that will define the restoration: talent, money and assets.
Detroit Pistons: State of the restoration
The talent
Possible stars: Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren
Starters: Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart
Wild cards: Killian Hayes, Marvin Bagley III, Isaiah Livers
What’s missing? A wing stopper on defense
The Detroit Pistons will clearly be building around Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey and hope they have an All-Star backcourt of the future. Signs are there that they found the guys, as Cade is the type of wing scorer/facilitator in the vein of Jayson Tatum that all teams are looking to find and Ivey is an explosive athlete who should complement him well.
Jalen Duren is only 18, but has also flashed big potential, as he is super athletic, can get after it on the boards and swat shots. The question is whether he will ever have any kind of offensive game, which could be the difference between him being more like Bam Adebayo rather than Andre Drummond. Both those players were/are All-NBA talents, so I’d take either one, but if he can develop some type of offensive game, his ability to defend all over will make him a star.
Past those three players you are going to need more faith, as both Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart are in “show me” years for the Detroit Pistons. Are these guys starters and future fringe All-Starts themselves or role players that would come off the bench on a good team? Bey has to get more efficient and Stewart has to develop some type of offensive game for that to happen. These two are definitely NBA rotation players, but this season will show us a lot about what they can ultimately be.
The Pistons also have three wildcards that have big boom or bust potential. Killian Hayes was good in preseason and showed increased aggressiveness. If he can end up being a two-way threat like Marcus Smart, then he can be an important part of the core and help speed up the restoration.
Bagley III needs to show he can stay healthy and be the inside force the Pistons need. Can Isaiah Livers be Detroit’s glue guy, a Shane Battier type player who can defend multiple positions effectively and knock down 3-point shots?
The Pistons are still missing a wing stopper on defense, which seems to be the roster’s biggest weakness, as guys like Bey and Livers are not quick enough to switch onto some guards on the perimeter.
Talent-wise, the Detroit Pistons are definitely not there yet, but they have the building blocks of a good team and we’ll have to be patient as they grow individually and as a unit. They definitely need another star player, as beyond Cade and Ivey there is a big gap to the next guy, so adding one in the draft, free agency or trade will be next on Troy Weaver’s agenda.