It’s unbelievable how much things have changed for the Detroit Pistons in just one year.
Not only have they gone from historically bad to a likely playoff team, but the narrative around their roster has completely changed.
We went from talking about which player was going to be traded to wondering if giving up one or more of the young core for a superstar like Devin Booker is really worth it. If you had asked that question at this time last year, people might have thought you were a bit touched.
The talk has now shifted to how best supplement the core they have, and I have fans asking me two questions nearly every day. The questions are posed as if they are problems, but these are the exact type of problems you want to have.
How are the Detroit Pistons going to pay all of these young guys?
Sometimes fans ask this question as if they are the ones who are footing the bill, but there are obviously salary cap and team-building implications behind having players who are all on similar timelines and are due for big raises.
My response is always: It’s not a problem.
The Pistons have one player on a max contract, Cade Cunningham, and other than that, the rest of their core is still on their respective rookie deals.
That will change this summer when Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey are both extension eligible, but it still shouldn’t present any type of long-term conundrum.
Ivey’s injury likely cost him some money, and even if he hadn’t gotten hurt, he wasn’t going to get a max extension.
The same goes for Duren, who has improved mightily over the last two months, but still isn’t in line for a max deal.
If either of them wants to hold out for one, fine, they can play out the last year of their contract and enter restricted free agency, where the Pistons will still have the choice to re-sign them.
My guess is that both guys end up signing relatively team-friendly deals that will still leave the Pistons plenty of money to fill out their roster. The same applies to Ausar Thompson the summer after that, as he too is not a guy who is likely to get a max contract.
That leaves the Pistons with one player on a max deal and a bunch of guys making between the minimum and $20 million a year (maybe slightly more), which is exactly what you want in the Apron Era.
As long as Detroit doesn’t do anything crazy, this is not a problem and won’t be until all of these guys are getting their third contracts after entering their primes. As long as the Pistons continue to find value for money elsewhere, they can keep this core together without losing financial flexibility.
Who is going to start?
Who cares? Does it really matter if Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren all start? It doesn’t to me, and I doubt it will to them, as this roster has embraced the team concept and cares more about winning than personal numbers.
The Pistons’ starting lineup has been WAY better with Ausar Thompson than with Jaden Ivey, but that doesn’t mean they are better off without Ivey or that he won’t be a key part of this team moving forward.
One of these players might have to come off the bench, so what? If you want to be a great team, you need quality depth, which sometimes means bringing a talented, starter-quality player off the bench.
Ask Tim Duncan’s Spurs how that works out.
Quality depth is the name of the game in the Apron Era
The team that already has the exact “problem” the Pistons may soon have is the OKC Thunder, who have a ton of talented young players on the same timeline.
It hasn’t hurt their chances, as they are not only the best team in the Western Conference, but have the trade assets to get even better. Having “too many” good players is not a problem any team should be concerned about, as you can always consolidate and make trades when the opportunity presents itself.
The key is drafting guys who understand that being on a winning team is the best way to ensure financial success in the NBA, so it’s worth it in the long run to sacrifice individual numbers for the sake of being on a consistent winner.
The money issues will work themselves out, as will the minutes, so I am not concerned about what the payroll 4-5 years from now might look like or who starts and who doesn’t.
Championship teams start with a superstar, the right complementary stars and quality depth behind them, and the Pistons are set up to have all three.