The Detroit Pistons will take on their old rivals the Chicago Bulls tonight in Little Caesar’s Arena, hoping to break their five game losing streak.
I say “old rivals” because it’s been awhile since the two teams were actually competitive, as they have rarely been good in the same season since the days of Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan.
In fact, the Pistons have lost 13 straight to the Bulls and haven’t beaten them since the 2018-19 season in which Detroit won all four matchups.
Detroit Pistons vs. Chicago Bulls: Two disappointments
Both the Pistons and Bulls have been disappointing this season, as Detroit was hoping to be near the play-in tournament, and Chicago fancied themselves a playoff contender coming into the season.
But both teams were hurt by injuries to their point guards, with Detroit losing Cade Cunningham for the season and Chicago still waiting for the return of Lonzo Ball, who has also been ruled out for the season.
The Pistons have the worst record in the Eastern Conference and the Bulls are just 28-34, good for the 11th spot, but still on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. The two teams aren’t far apart in the standings, but are in very different positions when it comes to rosters, future cap space and picks.
Coming into the season, most people would have looked at the two teams and said that the Bulls were in a better spot as a franchise, but now? I am not so sure.
So which of these two teams that used to dominate the Central Division is actually in a better position to get back to the top?
Detroit Pistons vs. Chicago Bulls: Comparing rosters and contracts
If you just looked at the rosters in a vacuum, you’d probably say that Chicago has the better team, as they have two legitimate stars at the top in Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan.
They also have center Nikola Vucevic and the versatile Lonzo Ball, though Ball hasn’t played at all this season and only suited up 35 times in the last one. They also have defensive standout Alec Caruso and up and coming forward Patrick Williams.
But here’s the thing: That roster has only gotten them 13 more wins than the Pistons currently have but is costing A LOT more. LaVine is set to make $48 million through the 2026-27 season, DeRozan, who is 33-years-old, is set to make $28 million next year and Ball, who has spent most of his time as a Bull watching from his sofa, will be making $21 million through the 2024-25 season, ouch.
In other words, the Bulls have a whole lot of money tied up in a team that isn’t winning and doesn’t have much young talent in the pipeline.
The Pistons, on the other hand, have a bunch of young talent in Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, not to mention James Wiseman, all of whom are still on their rookie deals.
It’s possible that a fully healthy Cunningham will be as good or better than LaVine next season and he’ll still be making just $11 million. Detroit stinks, but at least they stink with young players who aren’t making much, as Bojan Bogdanovic is their highest paid player at $20 million, less than Lonzo Ball is making to not play.
The Bulls are the more talented team right now, but the Pistons have way more young talent and contract flexibility going forward, so I am pretty sure most fans in Chicago would trade their roster for Detroit’s straight up even though the Pistons have only won 15 games this season.
But what about the future?
Detroit Pistons vs. Chicago Bulls: Cap space and picks
Both of these teams are obviously hoping to improve next season, but which team is in the better position to do so?
The Pistons will enter the offseason with the 6th-most cap space in the league, while the Bulls will be just 17th and will have to make moves to have any cap space at all. Detroit is in the position to land at least two quality free agents, while the Bulls will have around $11 million to spend according to Spotrac.
Of course, teams can also make trades, but the Bulls don’t have much in the way of assets in terms of players or future picks.
The Bulls are not likely to have any first-round picks for the foreseeable future because of the disastrous trade for Vucevic, which they foolishly made thinking they were on the cusp of being contenders. That didn’t happen, and now Orlando is going to get their pick this offseason unless it falls in the top-4, so it’s not likely the Bulls will be adding impact talent via the draft.
The Pistons also owe their pick to the Knicks, but the protections make it so it won’t convey this season and maybe never. Owing this pick has hampered Detroit when it comes to making trades, but at least they are still in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes, and after this season won’t really need more young players on the roster.
The Bulls will probably win tonight, but in the end, they are a franchise without a clear direction, as they are not good enough to be good and not bad enough to contend for a top pick, which they don’t have anyway.
Detroit may end up passing them by soon, and it will probably be awhile before these two teams are truly rivals again.