For the last five years there has been a question all fans have asked about the Detroit Pistons at some point in the season, which is “should they be trying to win?”
The answer was always no, as the Pistons tried to boost their lottery odds, and did so with some success, as they landed Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren, Ron Holland II and Isaiah Stewart, not a bad cast of young players.
This year that question isn’t as easy to answer, as the Pistons are playing well, at .500 and currently have a legitimate shot at the playoffs, or at least the play-in.
They own a top-13 protected pick in the 2025 draft, and as of right now, they would lose it, as the Pistons would have the 15th pick, meaning it would go to Minnesota.
I’m sure Trajan Langdon would love to have a first-round pick to work with in 2025, but he would also like his young team to taste success, and balancing those two conflicting goals will be his primary task for the rest of the season.
As a long-time suffering fan, I want this team to win. I want Cade Cunningham’s star leap to end in a playoff appearance and I want to keep the fun rolling. I don’t care about a draft pick and there are good reasons you shouldn’t either.
The Pistons don’t need any more young players
Detroit already has a 19-year-old in the rotation. All of their best guys are 23 or younger, so even though it’s always good to keep young talent in the pipeline, Detroit already has enough.
They are at a transition phase where it is time to start putting more talent around the young players they have, not more teenagers who are 3-4 years away from really contributing.
The Pistons will finally be free
Detroit has been hampered for years by this pick they owe Minnesota, which they first owed to Houston, then OKC, then the Knicks.
It has stopped them from being able to make a big trade using multiple draft picks, something we should probably be grateful for considering it was Troy Weaver doing the trading.
Once this pick conveys to Minnesota, the Pistons will control all of their future first-round picks and have extra second-rounders in 2027, 2028 and 2029, so they will finally have some draft assets to throw around if they want to trade for a star.
Winning matters more
You don’t build culture by losing on purpose, you do it by winning.
Winning not only gets these young players reps in important games early in their careers but makes Detroit a more attractive destination for free agents.
If the goal is to win a championship, then making the playoffs is the first step and one all good teams have to go through to be great. There are no shortcuts and players generally have to get a taste of the playoffs before they enjoy true success.
That is more important to the long-term goal than the 13th pick in the draft.
The Pistons have the Raptors’ 2nd-round pick in 2025
Even if the Pistons lose their first-round pick, they should have a very good one in the second round, as they own the Raptors pick in 2025.
The Raptors are tanking, have only won one of their last 10 games, and could drop even lower in the standings at some point.
Currently, that pick would be the 34th, near the top of the round, a place where Trajan Langdon has had a lot of success finding players, as he did in New Orleans and hopefully with Bobi Klintman.
The 2025 draft is touted as being deep, so Detroit can still find a developmental player in that range or an older prospect who can help them immediately. There isn’t that much difference between the back end of the lottery and the top of the second round, as it is all a crap shoot at that point.
The Pistons (or their fans) shouldn’t worry about lottery odds or losing their pick because it’s a sign they are heading in the right direction as a franchise and they have the Raptors’ consolation prize anyway.