By this time next year, the Detroit Pistons will be in position to add the final pieces to a roster that can compete for a championship.
The Pistons are already predicted to be a top-four team in the Eastern Conference next season, though no one really considers them a threat for a championship. The Pacers showed this season that anything can happen if a team gets hot at the right time, so I wouldn’t rule the Pistons out of competing for the East, but it’s hard to see them being a legit title contender next season.
But one year from now, some things will have changed and the Pistons will be ready to fine-tune their roster to one that can compete for a title.
The 2026 offseason, Pistons’ cap space and a big hole in the roster
There are projected to be as many as 10 teams that will have significant cap space in the summer of 2026, one of them being the Pistons, so there will be plenty of competition for top free agents.
Teams rarely land stars in free agency anyway, so that doesn’t really affect the Pistons’ chances of getting a big-time player. The point is that they will have cap space and flexibility, with no long-term contracts on the books for big money except for Cade Cunningham’s.
Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren could be getting big raises, but that shouldn’t affect the Pistons’ ability to absorb a big contract or two.
And they’ll be in a much better position to do it, as they will have more information about their current roster, which guys they should keep and which might be fodder in a possible trade, either at the deadline or in a sign-and-trade next offseason.
They’ll know if Jaden Ivey is their long-term second star behind Cade Cunningham or just another very good role player like Isaiah Stewart.
Same for Jalen Duren, who needs to show growth on the defensive end similar to the progress Beef Stew made last season as a rim protector.
The Pistons will know more about how Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland fit with Ivey and will be in a much better position to make long-term roster decisions than they are right now with limited data.
Detroit will also potentially have a huge hole in their starting lineup, as Tobias Harris is on an expiring contract that could be used in a trade at some point next season. It’s also possible the Pistons will bring him back, but they need a long-term replacement and will have a big role available either way.
The Pistons’ timeline is clear: Compete for the playoffs and evaluate for one more season (or at least until the trade deadline) and then go from there. Who knows, the Pistons may feel they don’t need a big addition if everything works out, but if they do, they’ll be in the perfect position to land one and put the final piece around Cade Cunningham to win a title.