The Detroit Pistons are fresh on the scene as championship contenders. They ended a six-year postseason drought to reach the 2025 NBA Playoffs with a 44-38 record, pushed the Conference Finalist New York Knicks to six games in the first round, and are 15-2 through 17 games.
As the Pistons look to turn an extraordinary start into true contention, however, they're approaching an inevitable question: Should they complete a trade to improve their odds?
For most teams, the answer would be yes. No team is perfect, and if there are identifiable areas in which it must improve, the easier path forward would be to explore trade options and land on a move that can improve its short-term and long-term outlook.
Detroit is in a different position than the average contender, however, in that it's still in the process of arriving to its destination as a viable threat—and is doing so with a young team.
New contenders are always different from established hopefuls that are the right piece away. It's less about the talent in place and more a matter of how experience and inexperience can directly influence the immediate response to the introduction of new pieces.
The Pistons are a young and inexperienced team just now figuring out how to win at the highest level, and it's thus fair to worry that a trade could shake things up before they can even begin to settle.
Pistons must be cautious when considering potential trades
Detroit has built a potentially elite duo in point guard Cade Cunningham, 24, and center Jalen Duren, 22. It also has compelling building blocks in defensive ace Ausar Thompson, 22, and playmaking scoring guard Jaden Ivey, 23.
There are also promising up-and-comers such as 20-year-old wing Ronald Holland II, 24-year-old guard Daniss Jenkins, and 24-year-old big Isaiah Stewart, who are thriving in the minutes they play.
It'd be irrational to make statements about who's untouchable and who isn't just 17 games into the season. What makes this situation so delicate, however, is the fact that the Pistons are coming into their own despite strengths and weaknesses.
They even have ideal veterans for the cause of creating cohesion in Tobias Harris, Caris LeVert, and Duncan Robinson, who all have postseason experience beyond the first round.
Beyond the talent that's worth exploring, however, is the identity that hasn't yet been fully formed. The process is far enough along that the front office knows what type of players to look for in potential trades, but the hierarchy is relatively newly established.
Duren, for instance, has only recently embraced his offensive potential as a player who can score with power and poise on a regular basis.
Adding a new player to a culture that's built primarily around under-25 up-and-comers who are learning how to balance ego and team could thus prove dangerous. It's not necessarily that they're incapable of navigating new territory, but instead that something special is brewing but no one quite knows what's being cooked.
Detroit shouldn't outright refuse to complete a trade, but it must proceed with caution and ensure that any potential move is made with the fragility of a rising force in mind.