The Detroit Pistons are five days from the 2024-25 regular season and if you asked the players and fans the goal for this year it would be the same: to play competitive basketball.
It’s a low but important bar for the league’s worst team to clear as they try to prove that things will be different than the last five seasons.
What that looks like depends on who you ask, but most would be happy if the Pistons won 30+ games and competed for a play-in spot.
What we all agree on is that it can’t be more of the same, and if it is, big questions will have to be asked and sweeping changes could once again be considered.
There are plenty of compelling storylines heading into the regular season, but these five could determine whether the Pistons and their fans get what they want.
#5: How will the new veterans integrate with the young core?
We got a glimpse of how this will work in preseason and so far, it looks as though Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley will have a positive impact on the Pistons this season in several ways.
Both are known and respected shooters, so their presence alone helps the spacing in the offense, and unlike past Pistons’ veterans, they can do more than just stand behind the 3-point line.
The Pistons have lacked functional NBA players for years and if nothing else, these two are certainly that. The book is still out on whether Tim Hardaway Jr. will be anything but an expiring contact and some second-round picks, but the fit of Harris and Beasley is not a concern, they are going to help.