Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren and Ron Holland II form the young foundation of the Detroit Pistons and it’s an exciting group. There is only one problem: They’ve never played together.
Because of overlapping injuries to Ausar Thompson and Jaden Ivey, the Pistons only got to see the two of them play with Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren for a whopping five minutes last season according to ESPN, not nearly enough to make a determination about their long-term future.
Ron Holland has never shared the floor with these four, so while the Pistons have an exciting young team fresh off a playoff appearance, it’s still too early to know what they might be.
It’s strange, as the Pistons do have plenty of continuity with most of the same roster returning next season, but it’s still a group that has logged precious little time together on the floor.
When dreaming about what this team can be, the possibilities are exciting and certainly more optimistic than negative, but that wild minutes played stat from last season leaves big questions that are driving the Pistons’ offseason.
Detroit Pistons: Stepping into the unknown with caution
The Pistons have yet to come to extension agreements with Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren and it may not happen before next season starts, in which case they will be restricted free agents.
But with limited data about Jaden Ivey and the rest of the core after he played just 30 games last season, both sides may be inclined to exercise patience here, but it could cost the Pistons dearly if Ivey blows up and then commands a much larger second contract.
There’s also the possible emergence of two-way wings Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland, which could make Ivey the odd man out.
Jaden Ivey has to prove he’s worth the investment and to do that, he will need to be more than a one-position two-guard. He has to step up as the second creator and as a lead scorer when Cade Cunningham is on the bench.
Ivey has shown flashes of being able to do both, but it’s hard for the Pistons to commit without seeing it consistently and with the fully intact team, something we didn’t get last season because of Ivey’s injury.
If Ivey hadn’t gotten hurt, the Pistons would likely have all of the information they needed to make this decision, but he did, so for now Detroit seems willing to be patient until their questions are answered.