After Detroit’s recent acquisitions and key players returning from injury, the Pistons are a better team than they were last year.
Although the offseason isn’t over yet for the Detroit Pistons , they’re already a better team than they were last season.
That should sound a little ridiculous, considering the Pistons were the first team in NBA history to triple their win total from the previous season. Their 44-38 record helped them make the playoffs for the first time since 2019, including their first playoff win in 17 years.
Detroit still has the full $5.1 million Bi-Annual Exception and a $14.3 million Traded Player Exception from the Dennis Schröder sign-and-trade to add to the roster, but their projected rotation for next season already looks better. Trajan Langdon continues to surround the young core with veterans who can shoot and space the floor, and spacing is exactly what this roster needs to maximize their youth development. The pieces coming in are better than the pieces headed out.
Caris LeVert > Dennis Schroder
It was obvious last year that Detroit struggled with secondary playmaking after Ivey went down with a broken leg, and Schroder did everything he was asked of after he was the Pistons’ prized trade-deadline acquisition. He averaged 11 points and five assists while playing 25 minutes per game.
At 6-foot-6, LeVert has five inches and 30 pounds on Schroder. That’s a guard who has the size to provide versatility and defend multiple positions. Sure, Caris might be more of a combo guard than a point guard like Dennis, but I think he fits well playing next to either Cade Cunningham or Jaden Ivey. Since I imagine the secondary playmaking role will be more of a PG-by-committee, I think Caris can handle both on-ball and off-ball reps with the bench unit. He and Schroder signed on similar deals, though Caris’s is one year shorter.
Since Caris hasn’t played with a playmaker like Cunningham before, I think his shooting will benefit. LeVert shot 37% from three last season on 4.4 attempts per game, but he shot above 40% on three-point shots deemed “wide open” by the NBA. He should get many more wide-open shot attempts playing next to Cade and Ivey.
Duncan Robinson > Tim Hardaway Jr
Out goes one movement shooter, and in comes another. Yet, these are two very different movement shooters.
First, Detroit is again getting bigger: Duncan Robinson is two inches taller and 10 pounds heavier than Tim Hardaway Jr. Over the last two seasons in Miami, Duncan has even seen plenty of minutes at power forward. Given the Pistons’ current hole at backup power forward, this is a spot he could help fill in short spurts where THJ couldn’t.
Hardaway did a lot of shooting for Detroit. He made 37% of his 5.9 three-point attempts per game, and 67% of his field goals were three-pointers. Comparing that with Duncan, Robinson made 39% of his 6.5 attempts per game, and 73% of his field goals were threes. All this to say, if you thought THJ was the definition of a “shooter,” it’s time to give that title to Duncan.
Per the NBA, Hardaway actually shot more “wide open” threes than Robinson did last year, yet Robinson made 44.3% of those shots. Playing with Cade, Ivey, Ausar, and Duren, we could see a career year out of Duncan as he should see some of the most open looks he has ever had.
Jaden Ivey > Malik Beasley
Is this cheating? It kinda feels like cheating.
Sure, Jaden Ivey wasn’t exactly an offseason acquisition. The Pistons were 15-18 once Ivey broke his leg against Orlando, and Detroit was nowhere near the type of team they were during the playoffs.
Ivey was on his way to a career year. In 30 games, he averaged 18 points (career-high) along with four rebounds and four assists while shooting a career-best FG%, 2P%, and 3P%. He has shown clear development in his three years despite having to play for three different coaches. He offers the perfect secondary creator skillset next to Cade Cunningham – a skillset Malik Beasley didn’t show last season.
Ivey will show us this year how much this team needs him on the court.
Most of all, and echoing what Trajan Langdon said in his recent press conference, this team needs more data on its young players. Last season, Trajan did what Weaver couldn’t by putting them in a position to succeed with spacing on the court, but between Ausar’s blood clot and Ivey’s broken leg, they don’t have a whole lot of data.
In fact, Detroit’s projected starting lineup of Cade/Ivey/Ausar/Tobias/Duren may have the smallest sample size of them all. Any idea how many minutes that lineup has played together?
Two.
Yes, two. You could even take out Tobias, but Cade/Ivey/Ausar/Duren only saw five minutes together last season. Next year needs to be all about collecting even more data on their core group.
Detroit now has better veterans than it had last season, specifically in terms of size and shooting. With another year of development for the young guys, Pistons fans should feel optimistic that their basketball team is getting better, much better.