Going into this offseason, the Detroit Pistons preached that they would rely on internal growth from their young players, and nothing has changed.
We can debate the Caris LeVert signing, but it hasn’t radically changed anything. The Pistons still have other moves to make, but they aren’t likely to land a star player, so the theme going into this offseason hasn’t changed.
It’s easy to panic when other teams in the Eastern Conference are making big moves, but the goal and challenge for the Pistons hasn’t changed and won’t this offseason.
The Detroit Pistons need their young players to improve
It’s easy to take linear improvement from young NBA players as a given, but we know that isn’t always the case.
The Pistons will need Jaden Ivey to step up and continue the play he started in his 30 games this season. He’s coming back from a serious injury, so this certainly isn’t a given, but if Ivey can come close to stepping into the second star role, fans will quickly forget about a potentially underwhelming offseason.
Improvement from Ausar Thompson will be more impactful than any free agent the Pistons were ever going to sign. If he makes strides as a playmaker, creator and finisher to go along with his elite defense, the Pistons might have their second star in house.
Jalen Duren certainly has plenty of room to improve. Isaiah Stewart can grow as a shooter, a skill we know he has in his bag.
Ron Holland II is off a promising rookie season and should make strides after his first full NBA offseason. He has exciting potential and a leap from him would be like adding an impact free agent for the bench.
Can Marcus Sasser, Chaz Lanier or Bobi Klintman step into a role? Nothing has really changed for the Pistons, as they are only going to go as far as their young core carries them.
And they are set up for a big move in the future.
The Pistons still have financial flexibility
One of the underrated parts of the LeVert signing is that it gives the Pistons a decent-sized tradable contract that doesn’t extend long term. They have Tobias Harris’ big number coming off the books after this season, as well as Simone Fontecchio.
The Pistons are in good shape financially, as they still don’t have any glaringly bad contracts and now have deals they could potentially package for a bigger contract.
It may not be exciting, but not much has changed for the Pistons, who will still rely on internal growth as their greatest chance for improvement.