The Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs are in similar situations, as they are winning behind a young superstar who is complemented by other young, high-ceiling players. The biggest difference is the Spurs have a veteran star in De’Aaron Fox, which is the piece the Pistons may be missing.
The Spurs have Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle along with Devin Vassell, young up-and-comers with high ceilings who have not reached their peak, flanking their superstar Victor Wembanyama, while the Pistons have young high-ceiling guys in Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey around Cade Cunningham.
You can argue about which young core is better, but there’s no arguing that the Spurs have something the Pistons don’t, which is a veteran star in the prime of his career to help balance out all of the youth.
De’Aaron Fox is a reliable 20+ ppg scorer who can create his own shot, score in the clutch and take some of the pressure off Wembanyama and their young guards. Some pundits thought the Spurs had moved too early when they traded a bunch of garbage and first round picks for Fox, but he’s turned out to be just what they needed.
Cade Cunningham has important veterans on his team, but none who are stars at this stage of their respective careers. We’ve talked endlessly about the need for a second star in Detroit, and if that guy doesn’t clearly emerge this season, they will have to go out and get Cade some help.
The second star may be on the roster, but if not, Cade Cunningham needs help
I’ve seen enough from Jalen Duren already this season to think the 22 year old can certainly be one of the secondary stars that flanks Cade for the long term, but he’s hardly a guy you can turn to when you need a bucket, as he still doesn’t have much of an arsenal in isolation.
Jaden Ivey could eventually be that guy and is probably the biggest question mark right now, as he’s yet to return to form or play more than 14-15 minutes a game on most nights. Last night, Daniss Jenkins got the nod, so we aren’t much closer to knowing if Ivey can be the guy, who like Fox, provides the Pistons 20+ppg consistently.
Ausar Thompson is part of the foundation, but he’s also not a guy you can turn to for a bucket, which is why we see Cade Cunningham take practically every clutch shot. It took its toll last night in the OT loss, as Cunningham had to play 45 minutes and clearly had no legs by the end of the game, going 2-of-7 in the 4th quarter.
I’ve been in camp “let them cook” this season and am not ready to change that after one bad, ref-assisted loss, but when you see how the Spurs helped Wembanyama without sacrificing his young teammates, you have to wonder if Trajan Langdon can eventually make that type of move for Detroit.
Without a second star to worry about on offense, the Pistons are easy to plan for and that will get even easier in the playoffs, so they either need someone to seize that role, or Langdon may have to speed up his own timeline.