Next year has to be better.
The Detroit Pistons, completing the fourth year of their rebuild, are coming off a season in which they had the worst record not only in the NBA but also in franchise history. They had an unforgettable 28-game losing streak. All the accumulated goodwill and optimism has seemingly evaporated into thin air.
Again, next year will have to be better.
Detroit has ways to improve next season. It will likely take aggressive action and a bit of luck, but the opportunities are there. Whoever is named the new president of basketball operations will have their hands full but also have tools to work with. The Pistons have the best chance to land the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. This is a move that many evaluators and executives frown upon, but one that presents value if a team lands the top pick.
The Pistons also have about $60 million in cap space. Additionally, all signs point to Cade Cunningham getting an extension this summer.
Due to Detroit’s current situation and disastrous 2023-24 season, the Pistons will likely have to make decisions sooner than they wanted on one or two of their key young pieces. It’s hard to see how the team will significantly improve its roster without parting ways with one of them. The luxury of allowing certain players to develop in the hope of success is no longer there. Difficult decisions must be made.
Here, I will attempt to create an improved and competitive roster for the 2024-25 season using the NBA Draft, trades, and free agency. In this exercise, I’m going to work under the assumption that the Pistons win the 2024 draft lottery because, well, it makes sense that Detroit gets the No. 1 pick in an unwanted draft class.
Let’s go.
2024 NBA Draft
Players added: None.
As mentioned, I’m working under the assumption that Detroit lands the No. 1 pick. One way for the Pistons to add more proven NBA talent — which is necessary and also more realistic than adding a star at this point — is to trade up their pick in this year’s draft.
Here’s my proposal: The Pistons trade their 2024 first-round pick (No. 1), Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren to the Brooklyn Nets for Mikal Bridges, Dorian Finney-Smith and a 2025 first-round pick (via Phoenix Suns, top -14 protected).
I would be afraid to part ways with Ivey and Duren because both are very young and still have potential despite tough sophomore seasons, but that’s the situation Detroit finds itself in. He must be aggressive to take serious action. some progress. Cunningham, who has the highest trade value on the team, isn’t going anywhere. Ivey and Duren both have value around the league, and while this free agency class is MeDetroit can address both positions on the open market (more details below).
In this scenario, the Pistons address a significant need on the wing, getting one of the best 3-and-D wings in the NBA in Bridges and a very solid 3-and-D wing in Finney-Smith. Both players have several years remaining on their respective contracts. Having those two along with Ausar Thompson, Simone Fontecchio, and Quentin Grimes would mean Detroit would be rightfully placed in the wing rotation for several years. As for the Nets, who have had a disappointing season and appear to have a real ceiling as built, they should start rebuilding around youth, and the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft and two recent lottery picks in Ivey and Duren are a very good choice. way to begin this process.
Additionally, in this trade scenario, if my math is correct, the Pistons will still have about $34 million to use in free agency, while this deal opens up about $15 million in cap space for the Nets ( after signing choice #1).
Free agency
Ceiling space: $34 million (after transaction)
Following this hypothetical trade, the Pistons no longer need to target Tobias Harris, a name long linked to Detroit. Bridges, Finney-Smith, Thompson and Fontecchio can all switch between the two forward positions.
After reluctantly moving on from Duren, the Pistons still need to address the center position. They need someone who is positive on the defensive end and a legitimate lob threat to Cunningham on offense.
Enter Nic Claxton.
Claxton, 25, a free agent this summer, checks both boxes for the Pistons. In talking with people around the league, many believe he will make around $20 million per year on the open market. Let’s say, for the sake of this exercise, Detroit offers Claxton a three-year contract worth $66 million. That might be a bit too expensive, but it would give the Pistons a proven two-way center and still leave them with about $12 million in cap space.
From there, I would use the remaining cap space to draft a veteran point guard. I’ll pick Delon Wright in this scenario, assuming he commands no more than $3 million per year. With about $9 million left in cap space, I would target a strong third rotation player and a low-end player. Let’s go with Thomas Bryant, who I would offer a wink-wink deal to his agent that if the center opted out of his $2.8 million player option, I’d give him between 3.2 and 3, 5 million dollars. Bryant, a native of Rochester, New York, is very close to Isaiah Stewart.
At this point, Detroit would have about $6 million to use to fill out the rest of its roster — which, at this point, is in pretty good shape.
Roster 2024-25
Guards: Cade Cunningham, Marcus Sasser, Quentin Grimes, Delon Wright
Wings: Mikal Bridges, Dorian Finney-Smith, Simone Fontecchio, Ausar Thompson
Fat : Isaiah Stewart, Nic Claxton, Thomas Bryant
By my calculations, in this made-up world, Detroit would have about 10 legitimate NBA rotation players on its roster, which wasn’t the case last season.
There is a lot of versatility on the wings, with an emphasis on length and shooting. Assuming all goes well, the Pistons will have addressed their defensive issues from a season ago while adding more proven shooting.
Bridges is the perfect player to play alongside someone like Cunningham. And while it would take some pretty serious work to get him, it’s worth it considering his age, his skill set and the fact that Detroit didn’t have to give up any future assets to do so.
Will this specific scenario happen this summer? Probably not. I’m no Nostradamus, but these are the types of aggressive moves the Pistons should consider to be not only better than last season but also, dare I say, decent in the Eastern Conference sooner rather than later.
(Photo by Cade Cunningham and Mikal Bridges: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
