The Detroit Pistons have made some moderate improvements this season but it’s clear they still have a way to go to be truly relevant in the Eastern Conference.
They do have a couple of things going for them, namely that they have a star in Cade Cunningham, who is showing pretty much everything we wanted to see out of him this season as he heads into his new contract next year.
The Pistons have some quality role players in Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley, so they do have some of the parts of a good team.
What they are missing is another star, as they just don’t have a consistent secondary option to go with Cade Cunningham, and there is an argument that a second star would be enough to propel them into the playoffs in the mediocre East.
That argument was made recently by Bill Simmons on his podcast, where he made a compelling case for the Pistons to throw caution to the wind and go for it with a big trade.
Bill Simmons thinks the Pistons could be the next out of nowhere contender
We’ve seen young teams like Orlando, Houston and OKC go from bad to okay to title contenders in a matter of years, so why not Detroit?
That was Simmons’ central argument, though I think he is far more optimistic than me when it comes to how this roster ultimately fits together.
Simmons named a range of stars the Pistons could pursue that would potentially push them into the playoff picture and propel them into contention in the near future.
He named Jimmy Butler (he'd probably retire first), Brandon Ingram (who is currently hurt, shocker), Zach LaVine (we’ve talked about this enough), CJ McCollum (solid veteran guard who solves some of their problems and pushes Jaden Ivey to the bench) and Cam Johnson, who is having the best season of his career.
I’m not against this line of thinking, mostly because I am a fan first and I am sick of watching this team lose. The Pistons haven’t been relevant in 16 years and it would be nice for them to play a meaningful game before I have even more gray hair.
But there would also be some big potential risks and pitfalls to such a move.
Yes, the Pistons should trade for a veteran superstar now!
The Pistons have the bones of a good team, but just don’t have enough star power at the top.
We talked about them potentially being involved in a Jimmy Butler trade, but didn’t really consider that Butler could come to Detroit. I don’t see that happening, but he’s the type of star who could help push the Pistons to the next level.
The East is wide open after Boston and Cleveland and the addition of a guy like Butler or Ingram would make the Pistons relevant and possibly a top-6 team in the East, especially if Miami took a step back.
The clock is ticking on Cade Cunningham, who is good enough to win now. Do the Pistons want to maximize his time in the league or rebuild around him forever? I’d like to see Cade play in important games at some point.
The Pistons are still too young, even with their veteran additions, and they can’t just keep waiting around expecting one of their draft picks to magically transform into a star. We always assume development and improvement but is there a future All-Star on this roster other than Cade? How long do we wait?
If there is another All-Star on this team, it could be years before he is playing at that level. Cunningham is in year four and hasn’t won anything. How patient is he going to be if he’s heading into his 7th or 8th season and the Pistons still haven’t made the playoffs?
It’s something to consider.
It would be fun for the Pistons to be good again, even if it takes losing “potential” for a known quantity. Fans are sick of hearing about timelines that extend five years from now and are ready to win, so why not go for it? What do they have to lose?
No, the Pistons should stay patient!
Sigh.
Another year of player development, another year of evaluation, another year of watching teenagers and players in their early 20’s make mistakes.
Trajan Langdon has repeatedly talked about not skipping steps, building through the draft and being patient, rinse and repeat.
While I am sick of hearing it, he could be right. Is there really a star out there the Pistons can realistically trade for who is going to push them into contention? I’m dubious.
While guys like Ingram and Johnson might help them get into the play-in, they are hardly going to make the Pistons into a team that can compete with the Celtics, Thunder and Cavaliers of the world and would potentially put a hard ceiling on this team’s potential.
You’d be trading possibility and potential to be an 8th seed for the next few seasons and you can argue the value of either.
Jimmy Butler is an interesting name, but is a 35-year-old who wants to win now really going to be happy in Detroit? Do the Pistons even have enough to get him?
I like that Simmons is paying attention to the Pistons and has high hopes for them. I also agree that teams are often far too conservative, that the league is as open as it has ever been and that the right additions could put the Pistons into the mix and make them a surprise team next season.
I’m just not sure there’s a superstar out there for them and do have big questions about the potential of this group even if they could find one.