The Detroit Pistons are at the point in a rebuild where funny questions start to get asked like…do the Pistons have too many talented young guards? How do they divvy up minutes?
What was once one of the biggest question marks for the Detroit Pistons, is now arguably their biggest strength. Backcourt depth will no longer be an issue and pending a rotation clearing move, there may even be a little log jam at the guard positions.
Now I’m not one to complain about having too many high ceiling young players, especially on a team that has won 17 games last year.
I also am going to get this out of the way up front. Ausar Thompson is a forward. Too many people have been calling him a guard and I even heard someone ask how he will fit with Cade Cunningham. Ausar may have the ball handling and playmaking chops to be a guard, but I see him as a point forward who slots in best as a slashing wing or secondary playmaker on the break.
So if you don’t see him included in this guard rotation, that is why. By the way, he’s been fantastic so far in summer league.
What will the Detroit Pistons’ backcourt rotation look like?
When talking about the Detroit Pistons backcourt, everything starts and ends with Cade Cunningham. If Cade stays healthy this season and plays the way we know he can, the opportunities are endless. I hesitate to type this next sentence, but if Cade has another injury or struggles to regain his footing there are big, big problems. The franchise will need to do some soul searching.
So the article could really be ended here. The Pistons will go as Cade goes. It’s simple. But we are PistonPowered and we like to discuss the star all the way down to the 15th man on the roster.
Building out the rest of the Detroit Pistons’ depth chart is where it gets fun. Jaden Ivy will more than likely begin the season as the starting two-guard. The Pistons have invested a lot in the Cade-Ivey pairing and need to get these guys on the floor together as much as possible.
The only way to figure out if an investment is legit is to test it. So far the numbers are decent with Cade and Ivey on the floor together, it just needs to start translating into some wins.
With Cade and Ivey comfortably locked into the starting lineup, the bench minutes will be spread out more widely.
Troy Weaver made a savvy move this offseason, bringing Monte Morris back to the mitten and only giving up a second rounder. Morris will be perfect for new head coach Monty Williams and should handle a bulk of the back-up point guard duties. He may even see himself playing starter minutes as the season rolls on.
Over the last two seasons, Morris has been a starter in both Denver and Washington, he’s a career 39 percent three-point shooter, and has over a 5/1 assist to turnover ratio. You’re looking at one of the more under-the-radar solid guards in the whole league.
He will stabilize playmaking when Cade is off the floor and have a big impact beyond what happens on the floor.
As we’ve talked about before, the acquisition of Monte Morris, along with the Marcus Sasser draft pick, has called into question Killian Hayes’ future with the team.
Killian has been given opportunity after opportunity, and did see some improvement last season. It’s important to remember he is still young, but he may have just run out of time in this current situation. When Cade Cunningham was drafted, the Pistons timeline immediately moved away from Killian, and barring some massive improvement, it looks the inevitable trade may be happening.
Killian is due for an extension and will be playing for his job this season. I’m sure he is just hoping there are enough minutes to go around.
One guard I haven’t mentioned yet is Alec Burks, who will surely play a big role next season because of his shooting. He can work next to Cade, next to Morris, and seems to be a real plug-and-play guy in Troy’s system.
As of today here is how I would slot the guard rotation:
- Cade Cunningham / Monte Morris / Marcus Sasser
- Jaden Ivey / Alec Burks / Killian Hayes
It’s important to note there is also an interesting jam at the small forward position with Bogdanovic, Ausar Thompson, Isaiah Livers, and newly acquired Joe Harris fighting for time.
Joe Harris and Thompson could move over to take some of the shooting guard minutes, making the situation ever more cloudy.
I’ve heard some talk about the number of players in the rotation as an issue for the Pistons, but that’s not how I look at it.
The Detroit Pistons won 17 games last season. Any amount of competition for minutes is good for this team. No one has earned anything by default. Yes, the franchise has more invested in some players than others, but everything will be earned, not given.
The best part of it for us as fans? We don’t need to make any decisions and can watch it unfold.