The Detroit Pistons were pretty active in the free agent market, as general manager Trajan Langdon is looking to direct another rebuild for the franchise. The Pistons, who have been the league’s worst franchise for 15 years or so, had the most money to spend this offseason. Instead of continuing their youth movement, Langdon added several veterans.
“Their voices have been huge for us,” Jalen Duren said, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. “Those older vets, they’ve brought a sense of balance. Just hearing them talk, everybody wants to know what they have to say. Everybody cares about their opinions on things. I feel that’s been great for us.”
Detroit has only made two playoff appearances since 2010, and the Pistons have won just 31 games over the last two seasons. Moreover, the Pistons are coming off a franchise-worst 14-win season and have a whole new basketball operations staff, including Langdon and head coach JB Bickerstaff. Eight of the Pistons’ 15 players on a standard contract are newcomers, including six free agents.
As a result of these transactions, the Pistons have a lot of competition. Cade Cunningham and Tobias Harris are the Pistons only two starters set in stone, per Keith Langlos of NBA.com.
Among rotation locks, Cade Cunningham and Tobias Harris stand out. Cunningham, entering his fourth year, gave the Pistons every reason to believe he’s on an All-Star trajectory despite the staggering misfortune that surrounded him and befell the Pistons in year three. Harris arrives on a healthy two-year contract as the key free-agent signing of Langdon’s first off-season in charge. The Pistons now have something critically important: a steady veteran with a record of durability they can count on to give them 18 to 22 points a night. So pencil those two in as no-doubt starters.
NBA Training Camp Battle: Pistons Have Lot Of Competition for Several Roles as Preseason Games Begins
Duren is pretty much a lock to start at the center. The 21-year-old demonstrated dazzling ability last season, averaging a double-double. He was fantastic around the rim on the offensive end and led the league in defensive rebound percentage.
However, Duren is still very young, and the Pistons are much deeper this year than in recent years. Isaiah Stewart and Paul Reed‘s presence makes compelling competition for the starting spot. Both players have starting experience and their strengths.
Stewart has started most of his career and has come off the bench only four times in the last three seasons. However, the talented 23-year-old spent all last season and half of the season before at power forward.
Stewart is more polished and skilled offensively than Duren. But he has struggled with consistency and injuries and is not always “present” on the defensive end.
Reed is a high-energy player who excels on the glass, though he is limited offensively. He is also a strong post defender who can block shots. The 25-year-old is coming off a career season and showed a little bit of an expanded offensive game last season, knocking down 36.8% of his 3-point attempts.
Starting Shooting Guard: Malik Beasley vs. Jaden Ivey
Jaden Ivey is the incumbent at the two and extremely talented. The 22-year-old is a scorer, though he may also be the Piston’s second-best option at point guard. He is not a good shooter and has struggled with his ball-handling.
Beasley is a dangerous 3-point shooter who can carry an offense when he gets on a roll. Last season with Milwaukee, he shot a career-best 41.8% from deep and has made at least 2.8 3-pointers in the previous five seasons. He also scored in double-figures in 41 of 79 contests with the Bucks a season ago, topping the 20-point mark nine times.
Starting Small Forward: Ausar Thompson vs. Simone Fontecchio and Tim Hardaway Jr.
Ausar Thompson is the Pistons’ best perimeter defender. The ultra-athletic 21-year-old wing is also a good rebounder who is at his best when slashing to the hoop. He does need to improve as a shooter.
Thompson was limited to 63 games as a rookie due to a blood clot in his leg. He has yet to be cleared for full participation in training camp, and his status at the start of the season is unknown.
“It’s not really in our hands,” Langdon said at the team’s media day on Monday. “We’re supporting him as much as possible and just waiting for the resolution,” Langdon said at the team’s media day. “We look forward to having him back.”
Simone Fontecchio, known as a shooter, showed massive improvement in his second NBA season and was terrific in his limited time with the Pistons. In 16 contests after being acquired from Utah, the 28-year-old averaged 15.4 points and 4.4 rebounds. He also drained 2.8 treys a game with shooting splits of 47.9/42.6/84.6%.
Tim Hardaway Jr. has starting experience but has spent most of his career coming off the bench. The 32-year-old is at his best in catch-and-shoot situations from behind the arc. Like Fontecchio, defense is not a strength of Hardaway.
Second Unit
As indicated, Bickerstaff has many options. Thompson’s status is a big question, and it could be the ultimate decision on how Bickerstaff organizes rotation. If Thompson is healthy, he should start, but if he is out for most of training camp and Hardaway of Fontecchio is effective in training camp, he decides to bring Thompson in slowly.
Projected Starters
PG: Cade Cunningham: 35 minutes
SG: Jaden Ivey: Ivey hasn’t been as effective coming off the bench as he has as a starter. He definitely has holes in his game, but Bickerstaff won’t want two players who are defensive liabilities (Beasley) on the court the majority of the time in the backcourt. Thompson is an option to start here, but he struggles shooting and is not a great playmaker. Ivey played 28 minutes combined at the 1 and 2.
SF: Ausar Thompson: 25 minutes
PF: Tobias Harris: 32 minutes
C: Jalen Duren: 30 minutes
Second Unit
There are some second-unit spots up for grabs. Regardless of whether they start, Cunningham, Ivey, Thompson, Harris, Duren, Stewart, Beasley, and likely Fontechhio will be part of the Pistons’ rotation. Ron Holland, the No. 5 pick in 2024, should also be in the rotation, as Langdon said that while the Pistons added veterans, they can’t lose sight of the developmental side.
That leaves one spot open. Hardaway Jr., Reed, Marcus Sasser, and Wendell Moore Jr. would all have a chance. Due to his shooting ability, Hardaway Jr. and Reed presumably would have the upper hand. However, there are issues with both of those choices.
Defense and playmaking are Hardaway’s weaknesses. So, depending on who he is paired with, Hardaway may not be a good fit unless he is shooting the lights out.
Reed is the likely choice as he gives the Pistons a different look, whether paired with Duren or Stewart. However, he is better suited to play with Stewart, especially if the pair aren’t alongside some shooters.
The thing is, Fontecchio doesn’t win the starting small forward job; he is probably best as a stretch 4. Therefore, Reed would be bounced from the regular rotation.
If Ivey does start, Bickerstaff can also go with a ball-handler. In that case, Sasser or Moore would get the final spot. Thanks to an increased roll in the second half, Sasser had an excellent rookie season. Moore is not a true point guard, but he can play multiple positions and is more known for his defense than offense.
Projected Reserves
Isaiah Stewart:24 minutes
Malik Beasley: 20
Simone Fontecchio: 12
Ron Holland: 10
Tim Hardaway Jr. 10
Paul Reed: 10
Marcus Sasser 4 minutes
Emergency Situations
Wendell Moore Jr.
Bobbi Klintman: Klintman will likely spend most of the season with the G-League Motor City Drive.
Preseason Games
Detroit plays five preseason games this season. The Pistons begin the slate of games at home against the Milwaukee Bucks on October 6.
October 6 vs. Milwaukee Bucks
October 8 vs. Phoenix Suns
October 11 at Phoenix Suns
October 13 at Golden State Warriors
October 16 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Open Roster Spot
Detroit has 14 players on standard contracts. Reed is the only player on a standard deal without a fully guaranteed deal, and the Pistons are $10 million below the salary cap. Therefore, the Pistons have many options.
Detroit could leave an open roster spot if they plan on flipping Hardaway, Beasley, or Stewart before the trade deadline. But it is more likely that they will fill the opening before the start of the regular season.
Detroit could scour the free-agent market as teams start making cuts. Or the Pistons could sign one of the four players on a training camp deal. Lamar Stevens, who has 203 games of NBA experience, played well after joining Memphis midseason. Stevens is on an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pistons.
Javante McCoy, Tolu Smith III, and Dearon Seaborn are also on Exhibit 10 contracts. However, those three players are likelier to fill the Pistons’ last two-way spot. Seaborn has 11 games of NBA experience over the last two seasons, as he was on a two-way contract with New Orleans.
