Let the offseason games begin.
The Detroit Pistons front office is leading their franchise into the most important offseason in more than a decade. Detroit is coming off of a 60-win regular season and a second-round exit in the playoffs. The team is still young. The team is still loaded with assets. There are still holes to fill.
Everything that has happened to the Pistons since the hirings of head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and President of Basketball Operations Trajan Langdon has culminated to this perfect storm. The rumor mill is swirling quickly and heavily as the NBA Draft slowly approaches this June 23.
The names being spread throughout multiple reports should, at the very least, give the most skeptical Pistons fans optimism for the future.
Explosive offense
The Pistons have one clear priority this offense: revamp the way Detroit basketball plays offense. The era of superstars being able to dominate games on their own are completely over. Superstar guard Cade Cunningham has been tasked with the unreasonable responsibility of carrying an entire offense for two straight postseasons now. His turnovers skyrocket in the postseason partially because of his decision-making, but also because he hasn’t been setup for success personnel-wise.
Detroit needs perimeter shooting, shot creation, court spacing, and offensive creativity and versatility. This is exactly the kind of player Detroit is reportedly targeting this offseason via trade. From Kyrie Irving and Coby White to Tyler Herro and Zach LaVine, Langdon is looking to give Cunningham the very much-needed help he deserves. Even the return of Malik Beasley would do wonders for the Pistons offense. It’s become clear to the organization that Jalen Duren is not a reliable and versatile scorer when it matters most.
At the moment, Duren needs to be setup by other teammates or by circumstance in order to dominate a game offensively.
All the players mentioned above are players who provide everything Detroit desperately needs right now. Cunningham needs a floor general that can keep the second unit flowing smoothly while he’s on the bench. Bickerstaff needs someone he can feel extreme confidence in toward the end of a clutch game that isn’t named Cade Cunningham. The Pistons need to a secondary ball handler capable of scoring 20 points per game out on the perimeter, not as a result of Cunningham’s gravity.
The best of all the targets
The Pistons should avoid dropping an absurd amount of money on an Austin Reaves contract in unrestricted free agency. Reaves is young, explosive, and a very willing passer. There’s better business moves that also put the Pistons closer to the NBA Finals that doesn’t result in shoveling another $45 million. Duren is set for an extension and rising star Ausar Thompson became eligible for a rookie extension this offseason.
The best move for where the Pistons are in their timeline is trading for Kyrie Irving.
Of all the potential trade targets for Langdon this summer, they would likely give up the least amount of draft capital and assets for Irving. Irving turns 35-years-old in March and is coming off of a torn ACL, but there’s little reason to believe he can’t score 18 to 22 points per game. If he can achieve this, he would be doing so through efficient jump shooting. He would be adding a brand new element to Detroit’s offense through crafty and creative isolation scoring around the rim and on the perimeter.
A move for Irving likely leaves Detroit with some room to sign or continue trading for other high-impact rotational pieces. Considering the haul they received for Anthony Davis, the new Mavericks regime could be more inclined to take what they can get in order to begin Cooper Flagg’s timeline.
