Things change quickly in the NBA. Just two years ago, the Detroit Pistons were the worst team in the league after winning just 14 games, the lowest number in franchise history. But now they may be “one small move” away from a title.
Bleacher Report recently graded each team’s title chances for next season and surprisingly gave the Pistons a “B,” which means “Playoff locks, but one small trade away or need a little internal development to win a title.”
They cited Cade Cunningham’s All-NBA turn and the emergence of Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren as their primary reasons.
I would have probably gone a bit lower, at least for next season, as I do think it will take some time to work out the kinks of their starting lineup with Jaden Ivey.
Speaking of Jaden Ivey, he could be the “one small move” the Pistons needed to put themselves in the conversation with other title contenders.
Detroit Pistons: Could Jaden Ivey be the final piece of the championship puzzle?
I should say for the record that I do not think the Pistons are going to win a title next season, but I do think they have a puncher’s chance of winning the Eastern Conference or at least finishing in the top three, which would be the exact kind of progress fans are hoping for and expect.
The Pistons have already proven they can make the playoffs and take a good team to six games, a nice story that also leaves out some important details.
Detroit was without Jaden Ivey for all but 30 games of the season and lost Isaiah Stewart in the first game of the playoffs, so they were able to give the Knicks all they could handle without two of their key players.
In other words, that “small move” Bleacher Report is talking about may have already happened, as there is a strong argument that the Pistons could have gone further last season if they were at full strength.
Of course, it will take some time to work Ivey back into the lineup and continue to build the chemistry they started to show last season, so we may see some early bumps.
But few playoff teams are adding a player of Ivey’s caliber, so even though he was already on the team, Jaden Ivey’s return could be the move the Pistons need to take the East next season and get into the title contender discussion.