The Orlando Magic recently made shockwaves around the NBA with a blockbuster trade for guard Desmond Bane from the Memphis Grizzlies. Reactions to the trade have been mixed, with some viewing the haul as an overpay for Bane and others praising Orlando’s efforts to bolster their young core.
Regardless of how you view this trade for the Magic, it does raise a question for other young teams on the rise: when is the right time to pull the trigger on a win-now move? In many ways, the Detroit Pistons have a similar trajectory and roster to the Magic, and this move may have the Pistons pondering if they are ready to give up some draft capital for a player who can elevate the roster now.
The Detroit Pistons have to identify their second star
Both the Pistons and Magic are built around young one-time All Stars who are continuing to improve. Cade Cunningham was a first-time All Star this past season and a finalist for the Most Improved Player award. Paolo Banchero missed the All Star game due to injuries but did put up a career high 25.9 points per game, an improvement over his scoring output from his All Star campaign a season prior. Both had promising performances in the playoffs but ultimately fell short against more talented rosters.
The first major difference between the Magic and Pistons comes in the presence, or lack thereof, of a secondary star. The Magic have Franz Wagner to take much of the load off of Paolo Banchero and even serve as the primary option at times. Wagner had a near All-Star worthy season in his own right, averaging 24.2 PPG and showcasing a well-rounded game on both ends of the court.
As we have discussed before, the Pistons lack a true secondary star alongside Cade Cunningham. After all, there is a reason Cade had the third-highest usage rate in the NBA last season at 33.2 percent. There is hope that Jaden Ivey can return from injury and serve as the secondary star for Detroit, but he unfortunately only appeared in 30 games last season. Detroit will likely want to establish a second star first before going all in to build a truly contending roster.
Beyond the star players, both the Magic and Pistons actually have somewhat similar rosters. Both teams established successful defensive foundations: the Magic ranked 2nd in the NBA in defensive rating while the Pistons finished 10th. On offense, the Magic were more flawed as they finished 27th against the Pistons’ 14th ranked offense. A lot of this stemmed from Orlando’s lack of shooting - while both the Pistons and Magic attempted 35 3s per game, the Pistons made significantly more because the Magic finished dead last in the league in 3PT%.
The Magic’s identification of a glaring flaw on the team actually made it easier for them to identify a player worth giving up significant draft capital for. Bane immediately slots in as a high-level shooter (career 41% from 3 on over 6 attempts per game) who can also contribute to the outstanding team defense. Orlando also had extra first-round draft picks to soften the cost of the ones they lost.
The Pistons are likely a year or two away from being ready to make such a win-now move, although it is something they might consider if there is not a clear path for developing a secondary star internally.