Considering that we’re still in the thick of the offseason and the roster may yet undergo more turnover, it’s perhaps a bit soon to project the Detroit Pistons starting lineup let alone the various configurations they may deploy depending on the situation, but we can at least get a skeletal picture of some of these rotations right now.
Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson are going to be eating up a lot of minutes in Detroit yet who they are surrounded by will often times be the difference in a given outcome. What follows is an examination of how the Detroit Pistons are likely to deploy their players as different needs take priority.
Detroit Pistons lineups: The starting five
Someone has to be on the court when the game begins, whether that’s the team’s five best players or simply the best unit. As of right now, ESPN has it that Cunningham, Ivey, Thompson, Bogdanovic, and Wiseman will be the ones to represent when the game gets tipped off. I don’t think so.
For “starters,” unless Wiseman is ready to make some massive strides, it would be a mistake to start him ahead of Duren.
Duren didn’t look like the league’s youngest player last season, which he was. He arrived to raw to the league but ready to contribute and did so by being one of its best rebounders and a capable defender.
We also must wonder if Bojan Bogdanovic will be here or not. The Joe Harris acquisition is just one indicator that he won’t be. Weaver is likely to be patient, possibly carrying Bogie all the way to the trade deadline, but that would also be somewhat disruptive to the team’s development. Bogdanovic was to the ’22-’23 Pistons what Jerami Grant was to the ’21-’22 Pistons; that is a veteran through whom we could run a great deal of our offense. But Bogdanovic is a more natural small forward than a power forward and in either case, he’s clogging up the court and in the way of one of the young core players.
I’m hopeful that the Pistons put forth their most talented tandem right out of the gate which would also, in this instance, serve to prioritize defense. That means, for me, dealing Bogie and starting either Beef Stew or Wiseman at the four. Until then, it’s very difficult to imagine Bogie losing his place among the starters.
IDEAL STARTING LINEUP: Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jalen Duren