If you asked fans of the Detroit Pistons what they wanted out of next season the answer would likely be some iteration of the word “progress.”
The Pistons have made none in five seasons, bottoming out, promising change, bottoming out again, rinse and repeat.
We’ve been through coaches, a string of forgettable players and started the whole process again with a new team president and head coach, who are both making promises that are eerily similar to the last ones.
If you asked fans of the Detroit Pistons what their biggest fear for next season is, the answer would likely be some form of “more of the same.”
That’s the greater theme at play here but there are nuances that break down into sub-concerns.
#1: Is this just a placeholder team?
When Troy Weaver took over the Pistons, he immediately blew up the roster and started to put his fingerprints on it, which turned out to be like the grubby prints of a guy who picked up a wet turd.
Trajan Langdon took a more measured approach, didn’t make sweeping changes to the roster, but added complementary veterans so he could see what he has. That’s what next season is, more “let’s see what we have.”
But who did he really add? Tobias Harris is on a two-year deal, both Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. are on expiring contracts. He extended Simone Fontecchio for just two years and hired a coach who had just been fired.
These aren’t moves for the long-term, ones that will set up sustainable success, as none of these players are likely to be around next season and are just keeping their seats warm for the next guy.
At the very least there will be more substantial roster churn before the end of the season, another reboot, another set of “complementary” veterans to help the young players who will suddenly not be so young.
All teams have some amount of unpredictability when it comes to the roster and coaching staff, but can you honestly tell me that all or even most of these players and/or coaches will be here in three seasons? Nope.
At some point, Langdon is going to make this “his” team with his guys and we have no idea of any of the current players will be among that group. The concerning thing is that the Pistons may not have even begun to begin this process.
#2: The hangover from the worst season in Detroit Pistons history
Last season was embarrassing.
From the front office to the back of the bench, everyone involved with last season should be ashamed and want to put it behind us.
But what if they can’t?
The Pistons start out with a brutal schedule that could see them in an early hole. What if they lose 5-6 games in a row to start the season? Are the players just going to say, “here we go again” and start to go through the motions of losing like they did last year?
And there is the opposite concern, which is that the team will be so desperate to improve from last season that they will do anything to win a few more games, including playing short-term placeholders like THJ more than some of their young guys.
If the Pistons win 30 games with all of their young players getting big minutes and improving, that is one thing. If they do it by riding a bunch of over-the-hill vets into the ground at the expense of players like Ausar Thompson, it will be another lost season.
The Pistons can’t be so desperate to make superficial improvements that it is to the detriment of the players who will be here past next year. Next season shouldn’t and can’t be all about development, as they do have to actually try to win games at some point, but if Ausar Thompson is playing 15 minutes a night off the bench because Tim freaking Hardaway Jr, is making 37 percent of his 3-point shots, I am going to tear out my hair.
The ghost of the 28-game losing streak could affect the Pistons whether they exceed or fall short of expectations, so as hard as it will be, they have to start fresh and not let last year’s failure turn into this year’s.
#3: Is another rebuild coming?
The biggest concern is that the Pistons don’t make any meaningful improvement next season, have another 23-win year with Cade Cunningham missing a bunch of games.
If that happens, we will 100 percent start hearing trade rumors even though the Pistons just inked Cade to a max extension. And why would Langdon care?
These aren’t his guys. He has no loyalty to them, and hasn’t staked his reputation and career on them working out in Detroit. If he sees this can’t work, he’s going to tear it down again and the Pistons will be left with Ron Holland, their 2025 draft pick and whoever survives the purge.
If he thinks this is a busted product, he may feel the best way to fix it is to trade everyone and start over just like Troy Weaver did. But unlike Weaver, Langdon has some players who will net assets in trades, which will make that option even more tempting.
His roster is a mess of placeholders and unproven youth, and it could be appealing to wipe the slate clean and start over with a new timeline set well into the future.
For those of us who want to see this team compete again sometime before we die, this is the nightmare scenario and the biggest concern, as it would start this whole process over again from scratch and put a winning season even further into the distance.