Need To Keep Developing Their Young Core
The Pistons have a great franchise centerpiece in Cunningham. Alongside him are players like Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson, who have shown real promise to be impact players in their young careers. These three make up the core of the team and fit how Detroit likes to play: Physical. The organization should prioritize helping all three complement each other’s games better. Duren and Thompson, in particular, have glaring needs that hold back the team.
Duren is a great rim-runner who will be looking for a big contract coming off the best regular season of his career. Detroit will most likely pay up to keep him around, but they need him to work on overall consistency on both sides of the court to avoid disappearing as he did at times in the playoffs. Thompson, extension eligible and expected to be signed long-term as well, is an elite defensive player that other teams’ coaches gameplan to avoid. His struggle to develop shooting from range allows teams to play off of him and take away his other teammates. Improving in these areas will elevate Detroit to be a more dangerous team for the future.
A Chance To Raise The Ceiling
The Detroit Pistons have the nucleus of a championship team. Built behind their defensive identity, they can stay in most games and wear other teams down. They have one of the best players in the league in Cunningham, who can single-handedly win a game. With winning experience after reaching the playoffs in consecutive seasons, the roster will bring back multiple rotation players under 26 years old, with room to grow together.
The offense and the inability to adjust well held the team back. Both the Magic and Cavaliers were able to control the paint and make scoring hard on Detroit. If they want to get to the conference finals and the NBA finals, the roster needs to be upgraded with shooters and shot creators. That would balance the team and allow them to play to their strengths better. Detroit has built itself a solid floor as a top team in the East. Now, the priority should be reaching the ceiling all teams reach for: an NBA title.
