The Detroit Pistons will end the 2022-23 season with the worst record in the NBA, but they aren’t without hope.
They have some high-upside young talent to build around, more coming in the 2023 NBA Draft and the cap space to be a major player on the free agent and trade market.
But they also have a incoherent roster that needs a major overhaul before next season if they really want to be good.
With that said, who exactly is going to be back and who is going to go? I’ve broken the Pistons’ roster into four categories, the core, the fringe core, the ones who are walking and those who could be traded.
Detroit Pistons’ Roster: The core
- Cade Cunningham
- Jaden Ivey
- Jalen Duren
There are only three players on this team that are locks to be back next season barring a wild scenario involving the second pick and Jaden Ivey.
Cunningham hopes to be 100 percent healthy and ready to make a huge leap in his third year. 5th pick Jaden Ivey has continued to improve all season and looks like a much-better fit than he did at the beginning and Jalen Duren is already a force in the paint even though he’s the league’s youngest player.
It’s funny how things change, as just a year ago we might have put Isaiah Stewart, Saddiq Bey and Killian Hayes on this list, but the 2020 draft class has been supplanted and these are now the three guys the Detroit Pistons are building around.
Detroit Pistons’ Roster: The fringe core
- Isaiah Stewart
- Isaiah Livers
These two players could be traded if the right deal comes along of course, but they are likely to return and have significant roles for the Detroit Pistons.
Isaiah Stewart is really the defensive heart of the team right now, a versatile big who showed some progress in his outside shooting this season, though he still has work do to do. People tend to forget that he is just 21-years-old and has shown improvement in each of his three seasons.
Livers is far less of a sure bet to be on the roster next season, but his low-ball contract and potential as a 3-and-D wing are likely going to make him part of the future.
Neither of these players look like stars by any means, but they are the types of solid role guys that every good team needs. Both of these players will benefit from having better teammates and a more fixed role in the rotation.
Livers has more to prove of the two Isaiah’s, but given his contract, he’s worth another shot next year at least.
Detroit Pistons’ Roster: Free-agents walking
- Hamidou Diallo
- Cory Joseph
- Rodney McGruder
- Buddy Boehiem
- Jared Rhoden
- Eugene Omoruyi
- RJ Hampton
This is the area where the Detroit Pistons really have the chance to free up some roster spots, as none of these players should be back next season.
Diallo made his case, but the Pistons need more shooting and better individual defense on the wing. Of this list, CoJo might be the most likely to return, as he is a solid 3rd point guard, but I’d bet Detroit will still try to upgrade the position.
McGruder is another solid end-of-the-bench veteran but the Pistons need to fill these spots with guys who can play, not just mentors who are good locker room guys. McGruder was pretty good this season in a limited role and could likely find a home on a playoff team.
Boeheim and Rhoden were complete wastes of two-way contracts, and Omoruyi and Hampton have not shown enough to warrant picking up their team options, though Omoruyi has made a better case with his defense and glue-guy intangibles.
If Detroit is serious about winning next season, they need to upgrade all of these spots and possibly a few more.
Detroit Pistons’ Roster: The trade bait
- Marvin Bagley III
- Killian Hayes
- James Wiseman
- Bojan Bogdanovic
- Alec Burks
I would not be at all surprised if all of these players returned to the Detroit Pistons next season, but I also wouldn’t be shocked if one or more of them were traded.
Of this list, Marvin Bagley III seems the worst fit, as he can’t really play with another big and can’t stay on the floor anyway. The sticking point is his guaranteed contract, which pays him $25 million over the next two seasons. I know Weaver loves the two-bigs idea, but the lineups with MBIII and another big have been atrocious, especially on defense.
Trading Killian Hayes would delight a large segment of the fanbase and set another part of it up to say, “see, I told you so!” every time he had a decent game for another team. He has a year left on his deal and trading him now would be selling low, but if the Pistons could find a reliable veteran backup who can shoot, Hayes might be gone.
Bogdanovic and Burks are the most likely to be back, but if Detroit finds a big trade out there involving their draft pick, they may need one or both of these guys to make it work. If the Pistons fall in the draft, look for them to try and package their pick with Bogdanovic to make a splashy move for a wing.
Then you have James Wiseman, who may be the biggest wildcard here. It’s hard to see the Pistons giving him an extension this summer given the lack of data they have, and he may have done enough to make himself an asset on the trade market. I would bet on him being back, but his talent and contract make him very movable.